AIFF president Chaubey serves legal notice to former AP official Kosaraju for ‘defamatory allegations’

Kosaraju wrote an e-mail to the executive committee members of the AIFF, alleging that Chaubey had “misused these (AIFF) credit cards for the self-purchase of shoes”.

AIFF President Kalyan Chaubey, through his lawyer, gave Kosaraju seven days to tender a public apology or face legal proceedings.  | Photo Credit:  R. V. Moorthy / The Hindu

All India Football Federation President Kalyan Chaubey on Thursday served a legal notice to former Andhra Pradesh official Gopalakrishna Kosaraju for making “false, malicious and defamatory allegations”, after the latter accused him of using AIFF credit cards for buying personal things.

Chaubey, through his lawyer, gave Kosaraju seven days to tender a public apology or face legal proceedings. The AIFF president also said that he “reserves the right to seek compensation for damages incurred, as a result of the false and defamatory statements” against him.

Kosaraju, a former president of the Andhra Pradesh Football Association, had on January 29 written an e-mail to the executive committee members of the AIFF, alleging that Chaubey had “misused these (AIFF) credit cards for the self-purchase of shoes”.

Chaubey “explicitly and unequivocally” denied the allegations and termed them “a creation of vindictive imagination” of Kosaraju.

“The unwarranted public dissemination of a defamatory e-mail, containing unsubstantiated allegations of financial misconduct, not only lacks accuracy but also unjustly undermines my client’s well-earned reputation...caused substantial harm to (his) personal and professional standing,” the legal notice, served by Chaubey’s Kolkata-based lawyer Sudarshan Kumar Agarwal, said.

“News reports, tweets and videos, wherein the wild, unfounded, false, baseless and per se defamatory allegations imagined and conceptualized by the Noticee are being further propagated and thereby cause further prejudice, damage and injury to my client’s reputation and goodwill before the public at large.

“... (these are) designed to curry political mileage and extract personal vendetta, owing to the Noticee’s defeat against my client’s panel by a margin of 33-1 in the elections of the AIFF (in September 2022), and do not have an iota of truth.”

Chaubey said he has never misused any funds while discharging his duties as AIFF president. He asked Kosaraju to “immediately desist from further disseminating this defamatory e-mail” or making any public statements that cast aspersions on his character, integrity or professional conduct.

“Issue a written public apology to my client for inventing fictitious, false, per se defamatory and malicious allegations against my client in terms of your e-mail dated January 29, 2024.

“The apology should be disseminated through the same channels as the original defamatory communication to ensure it reaches the same audience.

“My client reserves the right to seek compensation for damages incurred as a result of the false and defamatory statements made in the e-mail. This may include legal costs, reputational damage, and any other losses suffered by my client.

“In the event, you fail to comply with the above within 7 days from the receipt of this notice, my client will be constrained to initiate appropriate proceedings to protect his rights and interests...such failure will leave my client with no choice but to pursue legal remedies available to him, of both a civil and criminal nature, under the applicable laws.”