MUMBAI: NDTV has been sued for Rs 10,000 crore by Anil Ambani's Reliance Group in an Ahmedabad court for its reportage on the Rafale fighter jet deal. The lawsuit is filed against NDTV's weekly show, Truth vs Hype, which aired on 29 September.

The hearing has been listed for 26 October. NDTV Group CEO Suparna Singh tweeted on 18 October, “We will fight this brazen attempt to harassment and intimidation.”

NDTV also mentioned that the top executives of Reliance ignored repeated, multiple and written requests to appear on the show or comment on what is being widely discussed not just in India but in France as well - whether Anil Ambani's Reliance was transparently chosen as the partner for Dassault in a deal that saw India buying 36 fighter jets.

According to NDTV, “As the Rafale deal has become a larger news story in India, the Reliance group has been on a notice-serving spree; to sue a news company for Rs 10,000 crore in a court in Gujarat on false and frivolous charges, ignoring facts that are widely reported everywhere and not just by NDTV, can only be interpreted as an unsophisticated warning to the media to stop doing its job.”

Also, the Enforcement Directorate (ED) has issued a show cause notice to NDTV in connection with a case of forex violation it is probing against the media company on Wednesday. The notice has been issued for violations of the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore.

NDTV rejected any allegations of violating FEMA regulations. NDTV said that it is being targeted for its fair and independent journalism and that its persecution is intended to signal to other media that unless they fall in line, they will face similar consequences.