SC stays summons to Outlook in Sahara case

New Delhi: The Supreme Court has stayed the summons issued to the director, publisher, editor and reporters of Outlook Business magazine in the publication’s dispute with Sahara Prime City Ltd. The magazine was sued by the Lucknow-based group after it published a hard-hitting cover story on the real estate arm of the chit fund company in its 8-21 August issue. This included a caricature of the Sahara group chief, Subroto Roy, on the cover of the magazine. Sahara initiated criminal and civil libel proceedings against Outlook in Patna and Kolkata respectively after the story was published. Outlook approached the Supreme Court in a transfer petition on Monday with a plea to move both the cases to Mumbai, which the court is likely to decide on 25 Otcober, the next date of hearing. The court, in the meanwhile has stayed the summons issued to the magazine’s employees, while it decides on whether proceedings on the same case can simultaneously go on in different cities, or if they should be shifted to one court. Sahara has sued Outlook for Rs. 200 crores in damages, along with criminal charges, and the same was made public by Sahara through an advertisement in a national daily on 8 September. Outlook wants the case transferred to Mumbai because both parties have offices there and because the advertisement was issued from Mumbai. But Sahara says it filed the criminal case in Patna because a customer filed a complaint with their Patna office after reading an issue of the magazine there.