NEW DELHI: The New Delhi Television has asked the media not to publish any defamatory advertisement or publication of any nature whatsoever etc by Quantum Securities Private Limited or its directors/associates in connection with and/or pertaining to and/or relating to NDTV, its senior officials and promoters in a contempt application filed by the channel in Bombay High Court in a case pending in that Court.

The case against Sanjay Dutt, Quantum Securities Private Limited and its directors Om Prakash Arora, Neraaj Dewan and Sandeep Dutt was filed last year.

The directive was sent to the media by NDTV advocates Amarchand and Mangaldas and Suresh A Shroff and Co.

While issuing notice to Quantum as to why action under the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act shall not be initiated against respondents for committing violation of the orders dated 6 August 2013 and 26 February 2014, the Court in an interim order restrained Quantum or its directors from issuing any advertisements, defamatory letters, notices, e-mails, or any publication whatsoever relating to the case.

The matter has been fixed for 8 December.

The judge said his attention had been drawn to the advertisement given by the respondents in the national daily newspaper 'The Economic Times' in New Delhi in Edition dated 30 October 2014 alleging that the NDTV had not disclosed facts and events in the presentation and also on NDTV website.

It is stated that the Department of Income Tax, Government of India vide its final assessment order dated 21 February 2014 for AY 2009-2010 raised fresh demand of Rs 450 crore which has not been disclosed  which was required to be disclosed. NDTV said this was defamatory.

The matter relates to an alleged Memorandum of Understanding of September 2006 and an agreement dated 1 July 2007 (as stated by NDTV senior counsel R M Kadam in court) executed between NDTV and Sanjay Dutt and Sanjay Jain whereby NDTV engaged services for providing strategic and financial advisory services; corporate finance; investment management and strategic consultancy. It is alleged by NDTV that under this agreement an amount of Rs 2,60,00,000 was paid by the Plaintiff to Dutt and Jain.