New Delhi, July 8 -- The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed Trinamool Congress (TMC) MP and national spokesperson Saket Gokhale to withdraw his affidavit tendering an apology in a defamation case filed by former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri. The Court stated that the contents of the affidavit, in its present form, were unacceptable and could not be considered on record.

The oral observations were made by a Division Bench comprising Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar during the hearing of Gokhale's appeal against a Single Judge's ex parte decree. That ruling had required Gokhale to pay Rs 50 lakh in damages to Puri and issue a public apology, both in a national newspaper and on social media. His plea to set aside the de...