HC directs removal of posts linking Dushyant Kumar to Ankita Bhandari case

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party to remove within 24 hours social media posts linking BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case.

In an interim order passed on a defamation lawsuit by Gautam, Justice Mini Pushkarna also restrained the two political parties from posting any content targeting the BJP national secretary as the alleged "VIP" in the murder case.

The court also passed the interim order against other persons and entities, including Urmila Sanawar and Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee.

Justice Pushkarna said Gautam had made out a prima facie case in his favour and if the interim order to restrain the hosting of the "defamatory" content was not passed, irreparable injury would be caused to him.

The judge clarified that if the content was not taken down within 24 hours, the social media platfrom would remove the same as per the rules.

In 2022, 19-year-old Bhandari, a receptionist at the Vanantra Resort in Pauri district, was murdered. The resort owner, Pulkit Arya, and two employees, Saurabh Bhaskar and Ankit Gupta were subsequently arrested and sentenced to life imprisonment by a sessions court for the crime.

An audio clip recently released by actor Urmila Sanawar, who claims to be the wife of former MLA Suresh Rathore, allegedly mentioned a 'VIP' allegedly linked to the case.