litigation and more litigation

While RNRL, RIL, NTPC and the Government read oil ministry wear tight cumerbunds as they gird their loins to go into battle before the Supreme Court next week, as an aside a different kind of litigation proceedings have begun. Media which has benefited most because of the gas opera with juicy tidbits being leaked by both sections and of course a handsomne front page campaign by RNRL has now been slapped with defamatory notices for carrying those advertisements by Reliance Industries.

All 33 big, small and regional newspapers have reportedly received defamatory legal notices from India's biggest corporation. Even more interestingly one of the top editors who writes a Sunday column in a national daily has also been slapped with a similar notice for his fictional writing of facts by RNRL. Though media was having the last laugh till now enjoying both the news and revenues from the two sides, they are a trifle more circumspect now after RIL's missile. At the same time it has angered media bosses for they reckon a defamatory notice from RIL amounts to some sort of media censorship.

Expect more legal notices in the next few days and perhaps the odd advertisement also. The gas opera will now go into overdrive from next week, but expect nuggets, sorry skeletons to fall out of cupboards before that.