Pre-Admission, Perpetual Intimidation: Piramal’s Defamation SLAPP Against DHFL Victims

This document contends that the defamation suit filed by corporate tycoon Mr. Ajay Piramal (through DSK Legal) against DHFL victims and activists in Bombay High Court Suit S/42/2025 constitutes a textbook Strategic Lawsuit Against Public Participation (SLAPP), designed to chill constitutionally protected public-interest speech arising from criticism of the 2021 DHFL IBC resolution. Drawing on official court orders, registry records, and procedural chronology, it argues that the suit remains mired at the pre-admission/directions stage due to fatal defects—including continued filings under a defunct corporate name, defective service, ignored written statements, asymmetrical timelines, and uncured plaint infirmities—rendering it vulnerable to rejection under Order VII Rule 11 CPC. Situating the case within broader Indian jurisprudence cautioning against chilling-effect litigation, and invoking Articles 19(1)(a), 14, and 21 of the Constitution, the document frames the proceedings not as bona fide reputational redress but as corporate intimidation of financially devastated citizens engaged in non-violent civil dissent, warranting dismissal with exemplary costs.