The Kerala High Court has set aside a trial court order that had directed BJP leader Dr. Kirit Somaiya to pay ₹5 lakh in damages to Ziqitza Health Care Limited and its director Ravi Krishna over a 2012 defamation case linked to the "108" ambulance service contract. A division bench sent the matter back to the trial court for fresh consideration, saying the lower court had not properly weighed the evidence Somaiya wanted to rely on.
Background of the Case
The case goes back to 2012, when Somaiya, then a BJP national secretary, published articles and held a press conference alleging that Ziqitza had bagged ambulance service contracts in Rajasthan through a "non-transparent" tender process, allegedly helped by Ravi Krishna's family connections. Ravi Krishna is the son of a former Union Minister for Overseas Indian Affairs. Ziqitza and Ravi Krishna sued for ₹1 crore, saying the claims were baseless and damaged their reputation. The trial court in 2017 partly agreed, awarding ₹5 lakh compensation and restraining Somaiya from repeating the allegations. Somaiya challenged this in appeal, while the company filed a cross-objection asking for higher compensation.
Court's Observations
The bench of Justice Sathish Ninan and Justice P. Krishna Kumar noted that a person defending a defamation claim on grounds of truth doesn't need to prove every single detail — only the substantial part of the allegation. The court observed that the trial court was wrong to dismiss the CAG report simply because the government hadn't formally accepted it. It also pointed out that later developments, like the CBI registering a case and filing a chargesheet, could still be relevant even though they came after the publication.
At the same time, the bench flagged that Somaiya never entered the witness box himself, which weakened his separate defence of "qualified privilege." Key documents, including the CAG report, were also never formally placed on record as evidence.
Decision
The High Court allowed both the appeal and the cross-objection, setting aside the 2017 judgment. The matter has been sent back to the III Additional Sub Court, Ernakulam, for a fresh hearing, with both sides allowed to bring in more evidence. Parties have been directed to appear before the trial court on September 1, 2026.
The court also ordered that the court fee paid on the appeal and cross-objection be refunded to the respective parties. Separately, the bench noted that Somaiya had earlier deposited a demand draft of ₹6,00,000 before the trial court and left it open to him to apply for its return.
Case Title: Dr. Kirit Somaiya vs. Ziqitza Health Care Limited & Anr.
Case Number: RFA No. 74 of 2018 & Cross Objection No. 8 of 2022
