Former Macedon Lounge owner Gaurav Setia wins defamation case against Radio Haanji for false claims of imprisonment

An Indian businessman has won a defamation case against an Australian Punjabi-Hindi radio station for falsely claiming he was jailed for 10 years and fined $1m for wage theft.

Radio Haanji sued for defamation by former Macedon Lounge boss Gaurav Setia. Picture: Radio Haanji website.

An Indian business owner has successfully sued a prominent Punjabi-Hindi radio station for defamation after it falsely claimed he had been jailed for 10 years and fined $1m for wage theft.

Gaurav Setia — former owner of Macedon Lounge — was awarded $95,000 in damages after Melbourne and Sydney-based Radio Haanji published inaccurate court proceedings stating he had been convicted and sentenced to jail for withholding employees’ salaries.

In 2022, Mr Setia and his company — Rehmat and Mehar Pty Ltd — were charged under the Wage Theft Act 2020 after the restaurant allegedly withheld approximately $7000 in employee entitlements from four staff at the Macedon Lounge.

The charges made the Sunbury restaurateur the first person to be charged under the new wage theft legislation but all the charges were later withdrawn.

The former boss of Macedon Lounge, Gaurav Setia, and his company, Rehmat and Mehar Pty Ltd, were charged with landmark wage theft, which was later withdrawn. Picture: Facebook/Supplied.

Mr Setia was never convicted, jailed, or fined.

Despite the charges being dropped, Radio Haanji posted on its public Facebook page in November 2022 claiming Mr Setia had been found guilty and sentenced to 10 years in prison and fined $1m

Mr Setia — who migrated to Australia in 2008 — argued in the County Court the false post had caused significant harm to his reputation.

The Radio Haanji’s Facebook post — written in Punjabi — was liked by 920 people, with 272 comments and 165 shares.

The post remained online until January 2024 and was circulated within Indian community groups.

Comments under the post included statements such as “Rest for 10 years; Deserved; must be deported,” “These bloodsuckers are everywhere – shame on them,” and “Proud feeling for Gaurav that he is a champion culprit.”

Mr Setia said the defamatory post led to social ostracisation within the Indian community.

In one instance, the restaurateur was removed as a member of WhatsApp group after a screenshot of Radio Haanji’s Facebook post was shared.

Mr Setia said he “noticed people whispering” and avoiding him when he attended his local temple, where people would otherwise greet him.

His kid’s kindergarten teacher also claimed other Indian parents at the school were talking about Mr Setia’s criminal conviction.

However, Radio Haanji argued that the post’s impact on Mr Setia’s broader Australian reputation was limited because it was published in Punjabi.

The radio station argued that Macedon Lounge was not an Indian restaurant and did not primarily serve an Indian clientele.

The radio station that describes itself as “Australia’s top Punjabi Channel & Hindi Radio Station” also argued Mr Setia’s delay in requesting the post’s removal indicated it was not an urgent concern to him.

It also claimed the media reporting from other mainstream news outlets could have contributed to the loss of Mr Setia’s reputation and business in the non-Indian community.

During the hearing, Judge Julie Clayton said the Facebook post had conveyed that Mr Setia had been convicted of an offence warranting a 10-year jail term.

“An allegation of criminal conduct has long been considered the sort of allegation that would go to the heart of a person’s reputation,” Judge Clayton said.

“An allegation of conviction could reasonably be considered more damaging than an allegation of conduct.”

Judge Clayton said Radio Haanji’s Facebook post said Mr Setia was “found guilty”, although it later referred to him as the first “alleged accused” to be “charged.”

Former Macedon Lounge owner Gaurav Setia wins defamation case against Radio Haanji for false claims of imprisonment. Picture: NewsWire / Diego Fedele

The court heard there was not enough evidence to support Mr Setia’s lost business due to Radio Haanji’s false claims alone.

“Although there is a possibility that some harm was done to his reputation by the the radio’s publication or by the grapevine effect. Any damage done to his professional reputation and his reputation in the non-Indian Australian community was more likely caused by the other articles and the charges rather than the publication,” she said.

Judge Clayton ruled Radio Haanji’s publication caused “serious harm” to Mr Setia’s reputation within the Indian community, particularly in Victoria.

“Given that the publication was plainly wrong, it is inexplicable why Radio Haanji, which promotes itself as being a news platform (among other things), did not behave in the manner expected of news organisations and print a correction or retraction,” she said,

“There was evidence that, at least within Australia, Radio Haanji is the primary source of news about issues relevant to the Punjabi community.

“Even if this somewhat overstates matters, a specialist website targeting a particular community has a special obligation to correct mistakes when they are made to ensure the integrity of journalistic standards in this country.”

Radio Haanji was ordered to pay Mr Setia $95,000, and costs were reserved.