Defamation

Delhi HC asks Wankhede, Red Chillies, Netflix to reply in defamation case

The Delhi High Court on Thursday granted time to IRS officer Sameer Wankhede, actor Shah Rukh Khan-owned Red Chillies Entertainment and OTT platform Netflix to file their written submissions in a defamation suit relating to the series 'The Ba***ds of Bollywood'. Wankhede has filed a defamation suit against Red Chillies and Netflix for allegedly maligning his reputation in their series and has also sought Rs 2 crore in damages, which he wants donated to the Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital for cancer patients. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked the parties to file their written submissions and listed the matter for hearing on November 10. On October 8, the high court issued notices and summons to defendants Red Chillies Entertainment Private Limited, Netflix, X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, Meta Platforms, RPSG Lifestyle Media Private Limited and John Doe in the defamation suit and asked them to file their replies within seven days. As an interim relief, Wankhede has also .

HC flags issues in Wankhede's defamation case against Red Chillies, Netflix

At the outset, Justice Kaurav asked Wankhede's counsel about the cause of action for filing the suit in the national capital

Bihar minister slaps legal notice on Prashant Kishor over land deal remarks

At a press conference on September 19, Kishor accused Choudhary of involvement in an irregular land deal worth ₹200 crore

'Time to decriminalise defamation': SC issues notice in The Wire case

The Supreme Court observed it may be time to end criminal defamation while hearing The Wire's plea against summons in a case filed by JNU professor Amita Singh over a 2016 report

Bengaluru court orders removal of defamatory content on Dharmasthala Temple

A court here on Friday ordered the immediate removal of defamatory content targeting the Dharmasthala temple and its hereditary head, D Veerendra Heggade and his family in connection with the mass burial case. The 17th Additional City Civil and Sessions court's ruling follows the Supreme Court's earlier directions in a related petition. The order comes after a civil defamation suit was filed by Heggade's brother D Harshendra Kumar, who sought relief against defamatory remarks circulated by activist Mahesh Shetty Timarodi, Girish Mattannavar, Jayanth T, and others allegedly linked to the so-called 'Burude (skull) Gang'. The court, after examining videos, WhatsApp chats, Instagram posts, and Facebook reels, held that the allegations were baseless and damaging. It granted an injunction against further defamatory activity and directed platforms to delete objectionable videos and posts. Earlier, the Karnataka High Court had set aside an interim injunction, prompting Harshendra Kumar to

Lawyer withdraws plea claiming threat to Rahul Gandhi in defamation case

Congress MP Rahul Gandhi's lawyer on Thursday withdrew from a Pune court the plea claiming apprehension of threat to the parliamentarian from followers of Hindutva ideologue Vinayak Damodar Savarkar. The lawyer, Milind Pawar, said the court has accepted withdrawal of the plea. Earlier on Wednesday, hours after filing the plea, the lawyer said it was filed without Gandhi's consent and would be withdrawn. Pawar is representing Rahul Gandhi in a defamation case filed by Satyaki Savarkar, grand-nephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, over certain statements made by the Congress leader against the late freedom fighter and Hindutva ideologue. He drafted the application without consulting Gandhi and the latter has taken a "strong exception to the filing of this Pursis and expressed his disagreement with its contents", the lawyer said in a press release late Wednesday evening. The application filed by Pawar earlier on Wednesday said complainant Satyaki Savarkar had admitted that he is also a

Melania Trump threatens Hunter Biden with $1 bn suit over Epstein claims

Melania's attorney, Alejandro Brito, demanded that Hunter immediately retract the false, defamatory, disparaging, and inflammatory statement

Savarkar defamation case: Complainant accuses Rahul Gandhi of perjury

Satyaki Savarkar, the complainant in a defamation case against Rahul Gandhi over his alleged comments against Vinayak Damodar Savarkar, has filed an application before the court seeking to prosecute the Congress leader for 'perjury' or lying under oath. The plea, filed before the special court for MPs and MLAs, accused Gandhi of making "false and misleading statements" regarding the receipt of a video clip which, Satyaki claimed, contained defamatory remarks made by Gandhi about the Hindutva ideologue. "The accused had filed a pursis (application) last month complaining that he had not received the defamatory video...," said the plea filed by Advocate Sangram Kolhatkar on behalf of Satyaki Savarkar. But Gandhi's lawyer admitted to have received all documents produced by the complainant (including the CD containing the defamatory speech), it said. Yet, Gandhi's application claimed he did not receive the same, it said. "This clearly demonstrates that the accused is attempting to ..

Lakshmi Puri defamation case: Delhi HC refuses to accept Gokhale's apology

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to accept the written apology of TMC MP Saket Gokhale in a case over his alleged defamatory utterances against former diplomat Lakshmi Murdeshwar Puri. A bench of Justices Navin Chawla and Renu Bhatnagar was dealing with Gokhale's appeal against a single judge's July 1, 2024 verdict restraining the TMC leader from publishing further on social media or any online platform against Puri. The single judge also directed him to apologise to her and pay Rs 50 lakh in damages. The division bench said the contents of his affidavit couldn't be taken on record while asking Gokhale's counsel to withdraw the apology and file a fresh one. "This is not done you first withdraw this affidavit, then we will hear you," the bench told the counsel. The court said there was a difference in the two apologies' -- the one directed to be published by the single judge and the one filed by Gokhale. The matter would be heard on July 22. Senior advocate Amit Sibal, ...

Savarkar remark case: Court says Rahul can't be forced to submit cited book

A court here on Thursday rejected a plea by the grandnephew of Vinayak Damodar Savarkar seeking access to a 'book' cited by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi while allegedly making defamatory remarks against the late freedom fighter. The Congress leader cannot be compelled to produce the book, said judge Amol Shinde of the special court for MPs and MLAs. Satyaki Savarkar, the complainant in the case, had filed the application in May, claiming no such book as cited by Gandhi existed, and he should be asked to produce it if it did. The court, in its order, said the accused cannot be compelled to disclose his defense before the commencement of the trial. "The accused may produce any relevant documents during the presentation of his defense evidence. If the accused is compelled to produce such evidence prematurely, it would amount to violation of his fundamental rights guaranteed under Article 20(3) of the Constitution of India, which protects against self-incrimination," the order ...

Court rejects Rahul Gandhi's plea for plaintiff's lineage in Savarkar case

A court has dismissed Rahul Gandhi's plea seeking details of Satyaki Savarkar's maternal lineage in a defamation case over alleged remarks against VD Savarkar during a 2023 London speech

TMC MP Saket Gokhale agrees to apologise in Lakshmi Puri defamation case

The Delhi High Court has put the payment of ₹50 lakh in damages that Gokhale has to pay on hold for now

Delhi HC rejects TMC MP Saket Gokhale's plea to recall defamation order

Former diplomat Lakshmi Puri had filed a lawsuit against Saket Gokhale after he alleged that she bought property in Switzerland that was disproportionate to her income

Medha Patkar gets one-year probation in defamation case by Delhi LG

In a reprieve for Narmada Bachao Andolan leader Medha Patkar, a Delhi court on Tuesday gave her one-year probation in the defamation case filed against her by Delhi LG V K Saxena subject to furnishing a bond of good conduct. Hearing an appeal filed by Patkar against her conviction and five-month sentence in the case filed in 2000, Additional Sessions Judge Vishal Singh said he has taken into consideration Patkar's age, the gravity of the offence and that she had not been previously convicted. The judge also reduced the amount of fine imposed on the 70-year-old Patkar from Rs 10 lakh to Rs one lakh. Probation is a method of non-institutional treatment of offenders. It is a conditional suspension of sentence in which the offender after conviction is released on bond of good behaviour instead of sending the convict to prison. Last week, the court had upheld the magisterial court's order convicting her for the offence of defamation. Saxena had filed the case as president of the Nati

Court dismisses plea to prosecute AAP's Saurabh Bharadwaj for defamation

A Delhi court on Saturday dismissed a plea filed by a BJP leader seeking prosecution of Aam Aadmi Party's Saurabh Bhardwaj for alleged defamatory remarks against him in September 2018. Special Judge Vishal Gogne rejected the petition filed by BJP's Suraj Bhan Chauhan against a trial court order which had earlier dismissed his complaint against Bhardwaj. Chauhan had alleged Bhardwaj defamed him in 2018 by falsely claiming at a press conference that an FIR had been lodged against him. "The criminal revision petition is dismissed," the judge said on Saturday. The complaint was filed before the Rouse Avenue court in December 2024. A magisterial court had on February 19 dismissed Chauhan's plea, saying the alleged offence of defamation took place in September 2018 and observed the limitation period for filing the present complaint was three years. None of the grounds, the magistrate said, pleaded by Chauhan to seek the condonation of delay were found justifiable. "The complainant is

Delhi court dismisses BJP MP's defamation complaint against party MLA

A Delhi court on Wednesday dismissed a criminal defamation complaint filed by a Derjeeling BJP MP against a party MLA saying the latter had expressed his grievance which wasn't defamation else the right to freedom of speech and expression would be meaningless. Additional chief judicial (ACJM) Neha Mittal dismissed the complaint filed by Raju Bista while refusing to take cognisance of the matter against Bishnu Prasad Sharma. "The proposed accused has expressed his grievance that no actions were taken by the complainant on the issues raised by him. Such an expression also cannot amount to the offence of defamation, else the right of freedom of speech and expression would become meaningless. The statements made by the proposed accused were pertaining to the conduct of the complainant relevant to the discharge of official functions, he being a public figure and hence, the same cannot amount to defamation," the judge said. Sharma, the complainant alleged, harmed his reputation by making

'Order appears arbitrary, not lawful': YouTuber on Sadhguru video takedown

The Delhi HC ordered the removal of Shyam Meera Singh's YouTube video, mentioning that it defamed Isha Foundation and its founder, spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev

Delhi HC orders YouTuber to remove 'defamatory' video against Sadhguru

Shyam Meera Singh uploaded the video, titled "Sadhguru EXPOSED: What's happening in Jaggi Vasudev's Ashram", on February 24 and shared it on his 'X' page

Rahul Gandhi fined Rs 200 for missing hearing in Savarkar defamation case

Rahul Gandhi has been accused of making derogatory statements about Savarkar during a rally in Akola, Maharashtra, as part of his Bharat Jodo Yatra campaign in 2022

Kangana Ranaut, Javed Akhtar resolve long-running defamation case

Bollywood star Kangana Ranaut on Friday said she has resolved the long-running defamation case filed against her by veteran screenwriter-lyricist through mediation. The actor-politician actor posted a photo with Akhtar on Instagram and said the cinema veteran was "kind and gracious" during the mediation process. "Today, Javedji and I have resolved our legal matter (defamation case) through mediation. In the mediation Javed ji has been very kind and gracious, he also agreed to write songs for my next directorial," the BJP MP wrote in the caption. Akhtar is yet to comment on the matter. Akhtar had claimed that Ranaut defamed and damaged his 'immaculate reputation' by dragging his name into actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death in her interview with a news channel in July 2020. In 2021, Ranaut hit back by filing a counter-complaint against Akhtar before a magistrate's court, alleging criminal intimidation and insult to modesty. She had claimed that during her meeting with Akhtar at hi