Jay Shah case: Gujarat High Court refuses to stay gag order against The Wire

Amit Shah with his wife at their son Jay Shah’s wedding in Ahmedabad. (File Photo)

The Gujarat High Court on Thursday refused to stay a lower court’s ex-parte order barring The Wire from publishing articles on Jay Shah’s firm.

The Wire moved the high court after an Ahmedabad court last month issued a gag order in favour of Jay Shah. Appearing for the Wire, senior lawyer Dushyant Dave said the article published by his client on Jay Shah’s firm wasn’t defamatory in nature and is based on facts and public documents.

The court issued a notice to Jay Shah seeking his reply in the case. The next hearing will be held after two weeks.

Jay Shah had filed a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against the online portal after it ran a piece claiming that his company’s profits increased multifold since 2014.

The Wire, however, stuck by its report and said it was based on the company’s annual filings which are available with the Registrar of Companies.

The Congress demanded a probe into the allegations and asked BJP national president Amit Shah to step down. Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi, during his tour of Gujarat, has frequently attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for remaining silent on the issue. He mocked the prime minister for his trademark line against corruption: “na kaunga, na kanedunga”.