Defamation Suit in Singapore HC: SC Issues Notice on Subramanian Swamy’s Plea

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader, Dr. Subramanian Swamy has moved the Supreme Court against an order issued by the Madras High Court. This order allowed Advantage Strategic Consulting, a foreign trading firm, to proceed with a defamation lawsuit against Swamy in the High Court of Singapore.

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Dipankar Datta has issued a notice to Advantage Strategic Consulting Pvt Ltd in response to Swamy’s appeal. The hearing for this matter is scheduled to take place after a period of six weeks.

Swamy’s challenge pertains to an April 18 order by a division bench of the high court. This order set aside an interim injunction that had been granted against Advantage Strategic Consulting by a single judge back in 2014.

The origin of the issue dates back to a press conference held by Swamy in New Delhi on April 26, 2012. During the conference, Swamy reportedly made comments regarding alleged irregularities in the allocation of the 2G spectrum and the Aircel-Maxis deal.

Advantage Strategic Consulting Private Limited took offense to Swamy’s statements and issued a legal notice in response. Subsequently, the firm’s Singapore subsidiary, bearing the same name, initiated defamation proceedings against Swamy in the Singapore High Court.

Swamy had previously lodged a contempt of court petition in the Supreme Court, contending that he should not be compelled to face legal action for his involvement in 2G-related cases filed in the apex court. However, this petition was dismissed on September 10, 2013.

During the tenure of the UPA 2 government, led by Manmohan Singh, a significant scandal emerged involving an alleged presumptive loss of Rs 1.76 lakh crore due to the allocation of 122 2G spectrum licenses to telecom companies. The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) criticized the government for granting licenses at outdated prices and without adhering to a competitive bidding process.

In December 2017, a special court in Delhi acquitted all the accused individuals in the case, including the then-Telecommunications Minister A Raja and DMK MP Kanimozhi. The court ruled that the prosecution had failed to establish the charges against them beyond a reasonable doubt.