Kerala Blasters file defamation case against Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj over salary jibe
Indian Super League (ISL) club Kerala Blasters has filed a civil and criminal defamation case against Minerva Punjab owner Ranjit Bajaj over the latter's comments in a news story about KBFC.
In an interview with IANS, Bajaj had claimed that Kerala Blasters players' salaries were due for about four months. Blasters are taking action against Bajaj over this comment and have filed a case in the Telangana High Court. They have demanded a fine of Rs 60 crore.
Kerala Blasters have also named IANS and India Today in the complaint. It's quite strange that even India Today is being sued as the news portal only takes the syndicated feed from the Indo-Asian News Service.
The story has been taken down by India Today but many other websites still carry the IANS news article.
"When it's defamation case, usually the complainant will seek an unconditional apology and ask the defendant to retract his/her statement," Bajaj told Sportskeeda.
"In this case, they want me to apologise for my statement and also pay them Rs 60 crore. This does seem like a scare tactic to me but I don't want to comment further since it's the subject of a court of law."
A Kerala Blasters official confirmed that the club has filed a case and added that the club may comment later on it.
What Ranjit Bajaj said about Kerala Blasters
In the interview with IANS, Bajaj had commented about the ISL clubs making losses year after year because of their mismanagement.
"It (the state of Indian football) is going from bad to worse. ISL clubs are also in trouble, Mumbai is in problem (sic), Kerala Blasters have not paid salaries for the last four months. NorthEast is also facing problems for the last three years.
"So, if they kill I-League and these ISL clubs are shut down, that means you basically killed Indian football," Bajaj had said.
The Minerva Punjab owner is known for his stance against the ISL's promoters Football Sports Development Limited (FSDL) and the sport's governing body All India Football Federation (AIFF). He has vehemently opposed the idea of making the ISL the top division, saying the country needs a promotion and relegation system to better its quality.
He has been at the forefront of the I-League clubs' association, skipping the Super Cup and seeking answers from the AIFF on its roadmap for Indian football.
A club directly filing a case against Bajaj is, however, a new development. Let's see how this pans out in court.