NDTV filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court in 2011 against defamatory articles published in the Sunday Guardian. NDTV had sought damages of Rs 25 crores and an injunction on the publication of the said articles. The interim injunction was granted in favour of NDTV immediately.
With the change in management in 2014 of the Sunday Guardian, NDTV began settlement talks with the newspaper which was willingly joined by its representatives. The talks, however, could not eventually be resolved amicably. The settlement talks were reported to the court from time to time and taken note of by the judge.
These settlement talks led to unavoidable delays in the case which was not the intention of NDTV. It is these delays that led to the summary dismissal of the suit yesterday; the decision was not based on merits. NDTV is exploring its options regarding the future course of action.