Lalit Modi apologises to advocate Mukul Rohatgi for threatening him through an Instagram post

Lalit Modi (left) apologized Mukul Rohtagi (right). Image Source: Tribune India and The Economic Times

On Monday, Lalit Modi apologised to Mukul Rohatgi, a former Attorney General, for a previous statement in which Modi said he could buy and sell Rohatgi a million times and requested that Rohatgi not refer to him as a “fugitive.”

In his Instagram post, Lalit Modi said, “Dear Mr Rohatgi, on reviewing the post I wrote on my Instagram account, I realized I owed you an apology for something said in anger. I have been deeply frustrated by the tactics by which my mother has sought to bring me and my family financial grief, by appropriating the assets belonging to the Modi family under the farce of keeping up my fathers legacy.”

“The shares were in Sammy’s [my brother Samir] and my names [as was common in the Modi family] and to keep up my fathers legacy, we gave up our shares and put them in the trust which she now has expropriated. Her behaviour has caused me and my family tremendous emotional trauma over the years, and I have reached a point at the end of my tether, and I cannot deal with it anymore. This has taken a huge toll on my mental health and also on my physical health and in order to preserve my sanity and rebuild my physical health, I have decided to distance myself from this agony and handed over the reins to my son Ruchir,” he further said.

Lalit Modi added, “However, my complaint against you was that you without any basis or justification repeatedly called me a fugitive. This is a false – allegation either knowingly or otherwise you have been persuaded to malign me in this fashion. The words of a former attorney general of India should be carefully chosen – you know that very well given your experience. I must therefore assume that she has befooled you into making this false allegation. I wanted to lodge my protest at your carelessly agreeing to make this false allegation against me. I said things that I should not have especially the bit about buying and selling judges etc. These are matters of gossip and should not have been alleged. I made this allegation because of my state of mind. I have had a near-death experience and was in a deep depression realizing that after me this lady [my mother] will destroy my family and render my children destitute. It was the cry of an anguished father for which I deeply apologize.”

Lalit Modi said in his post, “However, I do beseech you not to make such false allegations about her prompting you to have stature on account of having held the highest-law office in India. I have complete faith in the judges and courts of India. I have been involved with litigation which has changed the course of the BCCI-purged it out of all its flaws. The courts also came to my rescue when the congress regime illegally sought to impound my passport. I have the greatest respect for the Indian judiciary and any comments made were only in a bad state of physical and mental health for which I express unconditional regret and apology. I have handed over the reins of the litigation to my son Ruchir and I am sure once again, the courts will give me and the family justice and relief from this dishonest attempt to appropriate the Modi family property by an outsider. Sorry for any anguish that I may have caused you.”

Earlier, Lalit Modi had threatened senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi. Lalit Modi wrote in that post, “You will be doing justice to your client by buying a judge overnight. But, I can buy and sell you a million times. No matter how much you can fight for your client, you will refer to me as ‘Mr. Modi’. You’re like an ant to me. But, you’re lucky, I like ants. So I won’t crush you. However, if I find out that you have spoken about me in print or electronic media, I will follow you to court. Jai Hind.”

Lalit Modi, the former chairman of the Indian Premier League (IPL), who was in the news for dating Sushmita Sen in July 2022, recently announced on Instagram that he has been placed on continuous exterior oxygen support after experiencing double COVID in the previous two weeks.

OpIndia Staff: Staff reporter at OpIndia