Srinagar Oct 22: PDP President and former J&K Chief Minister, Mehbooba Mufti has sent a legal notice to ex-J&K and present Meghalaya Governor, Satya Pal Malik for levelling “incorrect and false” allegations against her being a beneficiary in the Roshni Act. Mehbooba has also sought Rs 10 crore as compensation for loss of her reputation.
A notice served to Malik by Advocate Anil Sethi on behalf of Mehbooba said that that Malik had during a recent presser at Raj Bhawan alleged that Mehbooba took benefit of the State Land under The J&K State Lands (Vesting of Ownership to the Occupants) Act, 2001, popularly known as the Roshni Act and that on verification, Malik during his stint as J&K Governor, “found the above allegation to be correct”.
“By conducting yourself as an ex-Governor of J&K State and making utterances about the benefit being taken by my client under Roshni Act, which are not only false and incorrect, you have defamed my client and have levelled scandalous and serious allegations against her with the sole objective of tarnishing her otherwise politically neat and clean image,” the legal notice served to Malik reads.
“It is a fact that my client has never been beneficiary of State land under Roshni Act and has never taken any aforesaid land which now stands quashed/repealed. By making such false utterances, you have tarnished the image of my client and have defamed her and lowered her reputation in the estimation of the public, ” it adds.
It said that the allegations in the video clip wherein Malik is seen making the claims, “are vexatious, false, motivated and incorrect and this fact is known to you as well”.
Advocate Sethi, in the notice further said that “although no amount of money can compensate my client for the loss of reputation and good name caused by your aforesaid conduct, yet my client has decided to sue you for claiming compensation/ damages for loss of reputation and good name earned by her and for establishing that the allegations levelled by you are incorrect and false and have been levelled at a juncture which hints at a political collusion behind the speech made by you”.
“By virtue of this Legal Notice, I, therefore, call upon you to pay compensatory damages to my client to the extent of Rs 10 crores within 30 days of receipt of this Legal Notice. This amount of damages/ compensation is not supposed to be utilised by my client for her personal gains/ benefits but shall be donated/ utilised for public good. Please treat this Legal Notice in terms of Section 80 CPC and further legal consequences shall follow in case of non-compliance of the demand made herein, ” the notice further reads.
Sethi said that Mehbooba “has earned a reputation of being an impeccably honest politician by dint of her sacrifices and hard work in her political career spanning over 02 decades”.
“She remained Parliamentarian and Member of J&K Assembly and has remained the Chief Minister of the erstwhile State of Jammu & Kashmir. My client commands huge respect amongst masses i.e. amongst cross-sections of the Society and spectrum of religious minded people and down-trodden alongwith citizens of the State ofJ&K(now UT) as also the entire country”.