The Bombay High Court dismissed the Lodha Group's plea for gag orders on a journalist.

The Bombay High Court had issued an interim order striking down an injunction request by the Lodha Group against journalist-activist Krishnaraj Rao.

The Bombay High Court had issued an interim order striking down an injunction request by the Lodha Group against journalist-activist Krishnaraj Rao.On April 26, Bombay High Court issued an interim order striking down a plea for an injunction against activist-journalist Krishnaraj Rao and flat-buyer Shilpi Thard, filed by real estate developer Lodha Group, as part of a Rs 100 crore defamation suit against Rao and Thard. The case was filed in January, after Rao posted a series of articles and videos criticising the quality of the Lodha New Cuffe Parade project at Wadala, Mumbai.

In a video put up in January, Rao was seen punching the wall of a flat owned by Thard and her partner Amit Jaisingh which cracked. Rao posted other blog posts and videos for his YouTube channel in which he is seen highlighting other structural faults in Lodha projects.

The notice of motion sought gag orders against Rao posting any material about Lodha’s constructions anywhere. The order said Thard and Jaisingh purchased flats 3013 and 3014 on the 31st floor in Dioro’s B wing for a sum of Rs 6 crore. The couple alleged that the developer never allowed them a chance to inspect the flats till they signed some documents. On noticing leakage and seepage, Thard approached Roa to write about it who drafted a blog post on the poor quality of the construction. He sent a copy of the write-up along with the photos and videos he had shot to the Lodha Group but only got an auto-generated email in response. Lodha made allegations of extortion and blackmail against Thard and Rao.

Justice Gautam Patel dismissed the gag order for lack of merit. According to Mumbai Mirror, Patel called the New Cuff Parade project “a triumph of imagination over geography” and dismissed the plea for relief sought by Lodha.