Congress leader Jairam Ramesh on Tuesday said they will present "a true and factual account" of the events before the court in the case filed by Union minister Smriti Irani against them after they accused her daughter of illegally running a bar in Goa.
The Delhi Court had on July 29 issued summonses to three Congress leaders, including Jairam Ramesh, on a civil defamation suit filed by Ms Irani who accused them of making baseless and false accusations against her and her 18-year-old daughter.
"Order of the Delhi High Court in the Smriti Irani matter was served last night. Court has given us four weeks to reply and we'll ensure each and every one of the observations in the Order are responded to. We'll present a true and factual account of the stated events. Satyameva Jayate," Mr Ramesh said on Twitter.
The Delhi High Court order, uploaded on the court website on Monday, held that Union Minister Smriti Irani and her daughter are neither owners of a restaurant-cum-bar in Goa at the centre of the controversy nor a licence was ever issued in their favour.
The court said statements by three Congress leaders against them seem to be "bogus with malicious intent." Further saying that even the show cause notice issued by the Government of Goa was not addressed to Ms Irani or her family members, the high court said the three Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, Netta D'Souza along with others conspired to "launch a tirade of false, scathing and belligerent personal attacks" against them.
The court had also asked them to take down tweets and other social media posts on allegations levelled against the union minister and her daughter.
The high court said since the accusation commands an esteemed position as a minister in the Government of India and considering the nature of her public office, there is immense public glare and scrutiny of any information about her in the public domain.
The Congress has alleged that the senior BJP leader and her daughter had links with the upmarket restaurant - 'Silly Souls Cafe and Bar'.
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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