Noting that Karnataka IAS officer Rohini Sindhuri and IPS officer D Roopa Moudgil were “destroying each other’s careers” by pursuing their personal feud, Supreme Court has asked them to resolve their defamation battle through mediation.
A Bench of Justice Satish Chandra Sharma and Justice Sanjeev Sachdeva appointed Justice Kurian Joseph – a former Supreme Court judge—as a mediator to enable the two officers to reach an amicable settlement.
“Both are excellent officers. They are ruining each other’s careers…This court is of the opinion that the matter can be resolved by way of mediation,” the Bench said on Friday.
Noting that that mediation was the best way to resolve the dispute between the two officers, the top court directed them to appear before Justice Kurian Joseph.
The Bench stayed all further proceedings in the cases pending between the two officers until further orders.
The order came on an appeal filed by Roopa against the Karnataka High Court’s order refusing to quash a criminal defamation case filed by Sindhuri accusing Roopa of carrying out a “character assassination” against her through social media posts.
The High Court upheld a magistrate’s order taking cognizance, saying if the alleged statements were made in good faith or for public good was a matter of evidence to be decided during trial.
In her defamation complaint, Sindhuri alleged that Roopa shared photos, made allegations on the media/social media questioning her personal and professional conduct to tarnish her image before the public and colleagues.
The dispute related to public allegations made by the two officers against each other in 2023, following which they initiated defamation proceedings against each other. Following a public spat between the two officers, the Karnataka Government had transferred both of them.
