Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust Vs HDFC Bank Limited & Ors. (Bombay High Court)
The case arose from a defamation suit filed by Lilavati Kirtilal Mehta Trust and Prashant Mehta against HDFC Bank, its senior officials, and social media platforms. The plaintiffs sought injunctions, removal of allegedly defamatory statements, a public apology, and damages of ₹1,000 crore. They contended that statements issued by HDFC Bank and published on its website and in media reports falsely suggested that Prashant Mehta, his family members, and the Trust owed substantial amounts to the bank and had engaged in vexatious litigation to obstruct recovery proceedings. The plaintiffs argued that neither the Trust nor Prashant Mehta had borrowed money from HDFC Bank and that the statements amounted to defamatory “half-truths” that harmed their reputation.
HDFC Bank opposed the application and submitted that the statements were factually accurate and had been made in response to allegations publicly levelled against the bank and its officials. The bank contended that recovery proceedings had been pending for over two decades against members of the Mehta family, that recovery certificates had been issued, and that Prashant Mehta and other legal heirs had been brought on record in the debt recovery proceedings following the death of Kishor Mehta. The bank further argued that numerous proceedings had been initiated by the plaintiffs and related parties across various forums in an attempt to frustrate recovery efforts.
