'Ego fight clogging system': 90-year-old refuses to settle defamation case, Bombay high court adjourns it to 2046

MUMBAI: Bombay high court has adjourned to 2046 a Rs 20cr defamation suit filed by a woman, who is almost 90, and her daughter against the managing committee members of a south Mumbai CHS.

"I do not wish to state anything except that this matter should not be taken up for the next 20 years," Justice Jitendra Jain, sitting singly, said when an attempt at a settlement failed and she insisted on pursuing the suit.The dispute allegedly arose about a decade ago, reports Swati Deshpande. On April 20, HC requested both sides to try and settle, saying the matter could be worked out with the defendants giving an unconditional apology.

When the matter came up Tuesday, the erstwhile committee members were ready to apologise, but the woman stuck to her guns. The housing society's erstwhile committee members, represented by ALMT Legal, said on Tuesday that they would unconditionally apologise without prejudice. However, the senior citizen insisted on pursuing the defamation suit, the HC order, a one-pager, observed. "This is one of the matters where the ego fight between parties at the fag end of their lives clogs the system, which prevents the court from taking up the matters which really require more priority," HC said.

The dispute was over alleged collection of funds towards repair and maintenance of the society, which she objected to. In the minutes of one of the extraordinary general meetings, she was referred to as a "defaulter", which led to the filing of the defamation suit. In a 2018 order, one of the issues to be decided in the suit was where the woman was to prove that an Aug 2015 notice calling for an annual general meeting of Shyam Niwas Cooperative Housing Society, and the conduct and statements of defendants at a Sept 2015 meeting, were defamatory towards her. In another order, on March 27, 2025, another single-judge bench of Justice Abhay Ahuja noted that both the plaintiff and defendants were unrepresented in the court. He adjourned it to July 2025, clarifying that "if none appears for the plaintiff on the next date, this court will consider dismissing the suit". On Tuesday, the woman was represented by an advocate. Justice Jain said, "List this matter after 2046. At any cost, this matter should not be given priority on the grounds that the petitioners are senior citizens or super senior citizens. It is expressly made clear that this matter will not be taken up for hearing before 2046."