Gurdip Bath wins legal battle, holding media outlets accountable for fake News

Gurdip Dev Bath, Special Representative of St Kitts and Nevis has successfully won legal battles against several news publications for spreading fake news against him.

As per reports, media channels such as EU Reporter, Writeups 24, and CCE News had made several accusations against Dev Bath through their articles, alleging his involvement in the disappearance of Indian Fugitive Mehul Choksi from Antigua in May 2021.  

Media Accountability for Spreading False Claims

Soon after the nexus of false news spread, Dev Bath’s team took the publications into a legal battle, challenging their content. Following this, he won the legal battles. 

“This is a significant victory not only for Mr. Bath but also for the principles of accountability and responsible journalism,” said Dev Bath’s legal team upon their victories. 

Reportedly, Dev Bath’s legal team is still challenging the publications that have not taken down the defamatory articles. 

In unconditional apology, the publications in question took back all the allegations leveled against Gurdip Dev Bath and accepted that the “accusations published in their news outlets were false and incorrect.” 

Notably, the publications further accepted that their articles had been taken down because they “lacked concrete evidence.”

Public Apologies and Compensation

Gurdip Dev Bath reportedly donated the compensation he received as damages from these publications.

Sources suggest that the money has been put into good causes and donated to the London Ambulances Service – the NHS Trust. 

According to CCE News, the defamatory articles were taken down, and they settled the damage costs by donating to the nominated charity. Similarly, the damages were settled by the EU Reporter and Writeups24 in the same manners as well.

Ongoing Legal Actions

Several publications have been slapped with defamation charges by Gurdip Bath’s legal team for writing and publishing false content in his name. 

Notably, authorities in Antigua and Barbuda have also maintained that there is no evidence to prove the involvement of Bath in the disappearance of Mehul Choksi on 23 May 2021.

Bath has maintained his innocence by winning against several publications, and there have been several reports out there in the public proving the same. 

Choksi’s Alleged Manipulation of Media

Utilizing the looted USD 2 billion to the fullest, Mehul Choksi has employed a team of lawyers worldwide. His team is accused of paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to publications to put forth articles in favour of the fugitive. 

As per some independent platforms, in December 2023, a Daily Mail article drafted and published by Andy Jehring was one of the articles pushed by Choksi’s legal team. The platforms, citing sources, said that the journalist reportedly took £10,000 from a PR agency that acts on behalf of Mehul Choksi.

In 2018, in a comprehensive article, BBC News also explained how wealthy people, mostly billionaires, are keen on buying the media. While some literally purchase the media houses, others use the financial power to mold the news in their favour.

Walking on similar steps, Choksi uses his defrauded money to manipulate the media.

“3 years of investigation, no evidence found”- Atlee Rodney, Commissioner of Police Antigua and Barbuda

After three years of intense investigation, the authorities in Antigua and Barbuda have not found any evidence related to the claims being made by Mehul Choksi that he was forcefully removed from Joly Harbour in May 2021.  

Recently, police commissioner Atlee Rodney said despite three years the investigations, the police have "no information or indication" that Mehul Choksi was forcefully taken from Antigua following his alleged abduction.  

Even the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda, Gaston Browne, in the national parliament, clearly stated that there is no concrete evidence that proves Mehul Choksi’s claims of abduction.  

The Truth Behind Mehul Choksi’s Disappearance

Multiple articles in the reference section of Mehul Choksi’s Wikipedia provide details about what happened in May 2021. The articles, some by top publications with facts, report the entire plot. 

Notably, as per the information listed in the reference articles, everything was pre-planned by Mehul Choksi to evade his extradition to India, where he is still wanted for a whopping USD 2 billion in fraud. 

He orchestrated a staged kidnapping to create a wave of sympathy to evade justice for committing the massive fraud. 

Many references are attached to the Wikipedia database, which ascertains that in May 2021, Mehul Choksi was not kidnapped. Instead, the story was played as bait to delay his extradition to India, where he committed a whopping USD 2 billion fraud by taking a massive loan using fake “letters of undertakings.” 

According to Wikipedia, Choksi, along with the help of prominent lawyers, including Justin Simon KC- the former Attorney General of Antigua and Barbuda, British lawyer Edward Fitzgerald KC, and Indian lawyer Vijay Aggarwal, tried to set a narrative of his alleged kidnapping. 

At the same time, reportedly, Choksi planned all the details to fool the authorities and escape his arrest in his home country. Many reports and facts available in the public domain also say that Dev Bath was not involved whatsoever in the alleged abduction of Mehul Choksi. 

Dev Bath’s continued efforts to help the Caribbean region

The Government of Barbados awarded Gurdip Bath with the highly coveted national award, ‘The Honorary of the Republic,’ for his unwavering commitment to helping the region during the COVID-19 pandemic.  Bath was honored during an official ceremony on June 25, 2023, by the President of Barbados, Dame Sandra Mason.

Bath’s social work during the COVID-19 pandemic provided him with much-required social recognition for facilitating the first-ever consignment of vaccines to the Caribbean region. 

The doses arrived when the vaccines were rarely available, even in the most powerful countries. 

This significant help provided major support to a number of Caribbean nations, including Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Guyana, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and others. 

Furthermore, he has been vocal in expanding the boundaries of these Small Island Developing States by facilitating bilateral relationships with other countries. 

Background of the Mehul Choksi case

In May 2021, Mehul Choksi- a fugitive wanted in India for a whopping USD 2 billion fraud suspiciously escaped from Antigua and Barbuda. 

Reportedly, Choksi hired two Jamaican nationals, Paul Stephen Emanuel and Leonard Anthony Cole, and asked them to drop him to Cuba, a country that does not hold any Extradition Treaty in India. 

However, as per reports, because of possible danger in Cuba, Choksi had to change his plans while en route, and he allegedly asked his transporters to take him to Cuba. But he later changed plans and asked them to drop him off in Dominica, where authorities arrested him. 

Many reports and even videos available in the public domain showed how he fooled the authorities and left Antigua and Barbuda.