In a significant legal move, the Delhi High Court has mandated the removal of social media posts and videos by Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Jairam Ramesh, and Pawan Khera, which accused journalist Rajat Sharma of using abusive language against Nayak during a live TV broadcast.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna, in an ex parte interim order, highlighted that the Congress leaders had exaggerated the incident and presented a false version of events. The court emphasized that the continued presence of these posts would cause irreparable harm to Sharma’s reputation.
“The X posts maligning the plaintiff are merely sensationalized misrepresentations of facts. Their widespread dissemination has not only tarnished the plaintiff’s reputation but also poses a persistent threat of misuse in the future,” the court noted.
The court ruled that making these videos private or prohibiting their public release would not infringe on the Congress leaders’ freedom of speech. “The potential inconvenience caused by these videos and posts remaining public far outweighs any restrictions on free speech,” the bench added.
As a result, the court directed that all such posts (URLs listed in ‘Annexure-1’) be removed within seven days and that the videos be made private. The order stands until the final decision of the suit.
Sharma has filed a defamation suit against Nayak, Khera, and Ramesh, seeking ₹100 crore in damages. The controversy began when several social media accounts posted a clip from an India TV broadcast during the Lok Sabha election results, alleging that Sharma used offensive language towards Nayak. Nayak then shared the video on X, prompting her to file a police complaint against Sharma.
On June 11, Sharma accused the Congress media cell of running a false campaign against him. He claimed the campaign was a conspiracy, asserting that India TV had warned the Congress communication department against spreading falsehoods.
In response to the continued allegations, Sharma’s legal team issued a stern warning on India TV’s official X handle, calling the accusations baseless and defamatory. They asserted that the Congress spokesperson was sent to provoke Sharma deliberately.
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, along with his team from Singh & Singh Law Firm, is representing Sharma in this legal battle.
