Olympic wrestler Bajrang Punia has been granted relief by Delhi’s Patiala House Court, which compounded a defamation case filed against him by coach Naresh Dahiya. The decision was made after Punia tendered a written unconditional apology for his remarks made during a press conference held amid the Jantar Mantar protests.
Metropolitan Magistrate Yashdeep Chahal accepted the settlement between both parties and noted that the matter stood compounded. The detailed court order has yet to be uploaded, but the text of Punia’s apology reads: “I tender my unconditional apology to Naresh Dahiya for the wrong and insensitive statement made by me against him during the press conference held at Jantar Mantar during the agitation, in public view.”
The defamation case stemmed from a May 10, 2023 press conference during the wrestlers' protest, where Punia allegedly made defamatory remarks referring to an old rape case involving Coach Naresh Dahiya. The complaint pointed out that Punia had falsely implied that Dahiya lacked credibility to oppose the protest because he was facing a rape case.
However, Dahiya had been acquitted in the rape case in 2019, a fact he claimed was well known to Punia, who belongs to the same wrestling community. During the court proceedings, Dahiya stated this acquittal was deliberately overlooked in Punia’s public remarks to tarnish his reputation and deter him from supporting the Wrestling Federation of India (WFI) President, whom the wrestlers were protesting against.
The court had earlier, on August 3, 2023, issued summons to Punia under Section 499 read with Section 500 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), observing that the statements made at the press conference appeared to be malicious and not in good faith. It was of the view that prima facie, the elements of defamation were present.
While granting bail to Punia in an earlier hearing, the court had clarified that at the summoning stage, it was not necessary to evaluate potential defences by the accused. However, with the written apology submitted and accepted, the legal dispute between the two parties has now been resolved. The complainant was represented by advocates Rajesh Kumar Rexwal, Ravinder Singh, and Lovinder Chaudhary, while advocate Tushar Giri appeared for Bajrang Punia. Both legal teams confirmed that the matter had been amicably settled following the apology.
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