‘Dethroning her was unlawful’
LAWYERS representing Cape Town medical doctor, Dr Saumya Gautam, say the dethroning of her as Mrs India South Africa was unlawful.
Gautam was crowned Mrs India SA earlier this year and shortly after her reign complained, claiming she had not received the prizes that were promised to her by organisers Annulutchmee Thaver and Deon Ganas.
She has since sued the organisers and is continuing in her reign despite the organisers crowning runner-up Daphne Singh as the new Mrs India SA 2018.
Lawyer Rajesh Hiralall said her client Gautam won the contest fairly and she was still the rightful winner.
“Legally, there are no grounds to disqualify her.
“She won legally and if they wanted to disqualify her, they were meant to follow a process.
“She was meant to be given an opportunity to see why,” said Hiralall.
He said they had already appeared in the Durban High Court and Gautam was claiming for damages amounting to more than R1.2 million.
“We are confident in our case because legally speaking, when they stripped her of her title they acted unlawfully. We were in court and it was adjourned. We asked for preference to be given by the judge and are now waiting for a date.”
Gautam said: “The prizes I received were not more than R40 000, after they said I would receive prizes of more than R500 000 and a car. That is why I am suing them and they then unlawfully disqualified me.”
Organiser Ganas said Gautam was disqualified for bringing the competition into disrepute and misrepresenting the facts, that she did not receive all her prizes.
“She misrepresented the facts and that is why she was disqualified – not because she charged us.
“She is doing events wrongfully, she is aware that there is a new queen that was crowned.”
Ganas said they were waiting to see what the court will decide before deciding on a plan of action.
“What we did was, we contacted the people she is representing and we told them she is not the winner anymore and I think one of them pulled out, but the other company still has her as a brand ambassador.”