Hyderabad: Smita Sabharwal, the female IAS officer serving as additional secretary in Telangana Chief Minister's Office (CMO), got a Rs 15 lakh legal aid from the state government to fight a Rs 10 crore defamation suit against Outlook magazine. The magazine had carried an objectionable piece along with a caricature in its July 6 issue against the lady bureaucrat.

The piece published under Deep Throat column not drew widespread protests in social media , it also led to protests i Hyderabad. Magazine representatives, including its Hyderabad assistant editor Madhavi Tata, who is said to have written the piece, were grilled. The magazine had also issued an apology later. However, Smita chose to file a defamation case.