New Delhi: TMC Member of Parliament Saket Gokhale on Tuesday issued an unconditional public apology to former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri—wife of former Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri— over a series of defamatory tweets he had posted in 2021 regarding her purchase of property overseas.
“I unconditionally apologise for having put-out a series of tweets against Amb. Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri on 13th and 23rd June 2021, which tweets contained wrong and unverified allegations in relation to the purchase of property by Amb. Puri abroad, which I sincerely regret,” Gokhale’s apology published in a national newspaper and shared on his official X account read.
— Saket Gokhale MP (@SaketGokhale) June 9, 2025
The apology comes in compliance with the Delhi High Court’s order. The court had directed Gokhale to publicly apologise and pay ₹50 lakh in damages to Puri. The court had earlier restrained him from making further comments against Puri.
The court has also warned Gokhale of civil detention for willful non-compliance of its previous orders. The court had on May 28 observed that Gokhale had failed to publish an apology within the timelines set out in its July 1, 2024 judgment. Gokhale had even ignored the extended deadline granted in contempt proceedings on May 9, 2025.
“This Court finds that the nonchalant stand of the judgment debtor (Mr Gokhale) in not complying with the direction of publishing an apology… is deliberate, disrespectful and undermines the legal process,” the court had then remarked, reported the Hindu.
