In a shocking development, the file of a defamation case filed against top media houses and news publications has gone missing from inside court premises in New Delhi! Fatima Nafees, mother of JNU student Najeeb who had gone missing mysteriously from his hostel premises in October 2016, had filed the defamation case against Dilli Aaj Tak, Times of India and others for vilifying her missing son by repeatedly publishing stories suggesting that he was a terrorist and had joined the ISIS.
Fatima had, with the help of the Human Rights Law Network (HRLN), sued the publications for a whopping Rs 2.2 crores. But just as the case came up for hearing on September 14, the defamation case file went missing from Metropolitan Magistrate Ambika Singh’s registry at the Patiala House Court. This prompted Fatima Nafees to issue the following press release:
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Missing Student, Missing File!
September 14, 2018
The criminal defamation case file of Fatima Nafees, mother of JNU student Najeeb Ahmed, goes missing from Metropolitan Magistrate Ambika Singh's registry in Patiala House Court! In a most shocking and brazen manner, the file itself has been removed from the court premises.
Fatima Nafees has filed this complaint against prominent media houses like Times Group and India Today Group as well as individuals such as ABVP activist Saurabh Sharma for defaming her son by maliciously alleging that he had joined an international terrorist organization despite no evidence and denial issued by the Delhi Police. In the second part of her statement which was to be recorded today, Fatima was to bring on record the role of India Today, Dilli Aaj Tak and of Saurabh Sharma. It is no coincidence that the file has gone "missing".
The Times of India began the most malicious, derogatory, and defamatory campaign against Najeeb Ahmed on 21st March 2017 claiming that Najeeb was "watching inflammatory material on his laptop" and linked him with an international terrorist organisation. This communal and hate-filled propaganda was picked up by other news agencies and widely circulated on social media.
The matter was listed for today after more than 3 months. When Fatima Nafees last recorded a part of her statement on 26th May 2018, she was narrating the background to this case about the disappearance of her son, and by the time she began to name the first accused, that is, Times of India, the judge abruptly asked her to stop. Only one of the 10 accused was named till then.
Even as the Delhi police was partisan and shielded the ABVP members who assaulted Najeeb, the CBI has surrendered to their political masters in the central government. To aid their efforts, certain sections of the media have run a malicious and communal propaganda. The only hope was to knock on the doors of the court. Tragically, seeking justice for Najeeb through legal means has also seen the brazen interference from the corridors of power.
The right-wing BJP government has interfered in this case from the first day to protect its ABVP members. Now it is in their interest to stop this defamation case from going to trial. It helps to perpetuate their polarising agenda as long as Najeeb and Fatima's names are tainted with malicious and false suspicions.
When Mr Arun Jaitley filed a defamation case, the court wanted to finish the hearing in 3 months and the matter was listed every week. In the case of a marginalised person, somehow courts are not able to find dates to conduct the hearing on an urgent basis. Now even the file goes missing. Why such double standards for justice for the citizens of this country?
— Issued by Fatima Nafees
