New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed activist Saket Gokhale to forthwith delete alleged defamatory tweets against former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri.

In an interim order, Justice C Hari Shankar restrained Gokhale from posting scandalous tweets against former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri and her husband Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri during the pendency of the defamation suit.

He also said if Mr. Gokhale fails to comply with the directions within 24 hours of the order, Twitter shall take down the tweets.

The court passed the order on a defamation suit filed by Lakshmi Puri seeking Rs 5 crore damages from Gokhale and a direction that he deletes the tweets.

Lakshmi Puri has alleged that Gokhale has made false and factually incorrect, per se defamatory, slanderous and libellous statements/imputations against her and her family, in his tweets.