Indian-Australian man wins defamation case against A Current Affair

An Australian citizen of Indian-origin, Mr Sunil Pahuja, has been awarded $300,000 in damages after the Supreme Court of New South Wales decided in favour of Mr Pahuja in a defamation case against TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd.

The entry gate to the site of the Channel Nine studios Sydney. Source: AAP Image/Paul Miller

Sunil Pahuja arrived in Australia in 2009 as a student and became an Australian citizen in 2014.

In April 2015, A Current Affair, Channel Nine's flagship program aired an episode which filmed Mr Pahuja on a hidden camera.

The program included “hidden camera” footage of two separate meetings.

Mr Pahuja took TCN Channel Nine Pty Ltd to court alleging defamation and this week was awarded $300,000 in damages by the Supreme Court of New South Wales.

The judge said, “I regard this as very serious defamation which received wide circulation...I would assess the plaintiff’s damages in the sum of $300,000.”

According to the Supreme Court judgement, “The segment of ‘A Current Affair’ which defamed Mr Pahuja purported to expose 'a cruel immigration scam'.

"The broadcast was based on information provided to Channel Nine by a lawyer and migration agent, Mr Parmesh Chand. Mr Chand was acting for a friend of Mr Pahuja, Mr Satnam Singh, in migration proceedings in the Federal Court.”

The jury found that the broadcast conveyed that Mr Pahuja “was knowingly involved in a cruel immigration scam in which overseas residents were forced to pay tens of thousands of dollars to dishonest immigration agents in order to live and work in Australia” and that he “acted as a fixer for a dodgy immigration agent by directing persons to that agent he knew were desperate to obtain 457 visas.”

The judge also said that the broadcast had damaged Mr Pahuja’s reputation.

“In the present case, the imputations are very serious, alleging exploitation of vulnerable people for financial gain.

"It was noted on behalf of Mr Pahuja that the broadcast highlighted his face, name and involvement in what was repeatedly described as a “cruel" scam,” the judgement reads.

Judge McCallum J commented, “In my assessment, the unnamed “dodgy agent” was presented as the primary villain.

"However, by reason of the defendants’ choice to pixelate his face and conceal his identity, the focus fell on Mr Pahuja. I accept that he is presented front and centre as the target of a stern attack.”

However, the judge acknowledged that a larger award of damages could have been warranted if the Channel 9 had not been partially successful in their defence of justification.

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