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Informist, Monday, Jun. 1, 2026

 

NEW DELHI – The Delhi High Court Monday quashed defamation proceedings against Samir K. Modi, former executive director of Godfrey Phillips India Ltd. The case was filed by Godfrey Phillips India's independent directors Nirmala Bagri and Atul Kumar Gupta, alleging that Modi's media statement against them regarding an alleged assault on the former executive director had damaged their reputations. 

 

Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma said the case is one where Modi cannot be said to have made or disseminated any false or defamatory imputation against Bagri and Gupta. A plain reading of the news articles in question makes it evident that the portion attributed to Modi does not pertain to Bagri and Gupta, but pertains to his mother, Bina Modi, the chairperson and managing director of Godfrey Phillips, the court said.

 

The only segment of the news articles, complained of by Bagri and Gupta, is a single line stating that the other present board members were consenting parties to the assault, the court said. This line is a verbatim reproduction of the allegation made by the petitioner in his 2024 police complaint, which culminated in a first information report and an investigation, resulting in the filing of a charge-sheet, the court said. This line was not any independent statement made by the petitioner to the news correspondents, but a reproduction of an accusation made by him to the police in the course of invoking the criminal law, the court said.

 

The lower court orders directing issuance of summons to the petitioner cannot be sustained in law and are therefore set aside, and the consequential proceedings emanating therefrom are also quashed, the court said.

 

The case concerns an incident in May 2024 in which Samir Modi attempted to attend a board meeting and was allegedly stopped by his mother's personal security officer, who claimed to be acting on her instructions. Samir Modi had said he was physically assaulted during the confrontation, resulting in a fractured finger. Thereafter, in an interview with the Economic Times, Samir Modi said the board members orchestrated an attack to prevent him from attending the meeting. Bagri and Gupta filed the suit, accusing Samir Modi of defaming them by publicly claiming that they had consented to the attack on him. 

 

Modi is the son of late businessman K.K. Modi and brother of former Indian Premier League chairman Lalit Modi. Samir Modi was removed from Godfrey Phillips's board in August 2024. In his place, the company appointed Charu Modi, who is the daughter of Bina Modi and late K.K. Modi, and sister of Samir and Lalit Modi. Currently, Samir Modi is the managing director of Modi Enterprises, a company founded by his grandfather Gujarmal Modi. 

 

In April, the high court had quashed a case against Bina Modi and others on the alleged assault on Samir Modi after a settlement between the parties. Samir Modi had informed the court that he had withdrawn his complaint against Bina Modi, following which the court quashed the case against her. 

 

Monday, shares of Godfrey Phillips ended 1.2% lower at INR 2,254.60 on the National Stock Exchange.  End

 

Reported by Surya Tripathi

Edited by Saji George Titus

 

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