In an appeal against the trial court’s restraint order in Adani Enterprises’ defamation suit, the Rohini District Court set aside sweeping directions against journalist Ravi Nair and others. Matter is now remanded for fresh consideration.
Judge-III, Ashish Agrawal, North-West District, Rohini Courts, on September 18, set aside an order of the Senior Civil Judge that had directed the removal of allegedly defamatory articles against Adani Enterprises Ltd.
Earlier on September 6, 2025, certain statements by the defendants were held to be prima facie defamatory by trial court. Defendants were restrained from publishing or circulating “unverified, unsubstantiated and ex-facie defamatory” reports, and they were directed to expunge existing material. The order also empowered Adani to directly approach intermediaries, who were instructed to remove such content within 36 hours of notification.
Challenging this, the appellants argued that the order was passed without hearing them, in violation of principles of natural justice and Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. They contended that such sweeping ex-parte directions had a chilling effect on free speech.
The District Judge found merit in these concerns, observing that the trial court had effectively decreed the suit at an interim stage, since removal of content from public platforms could not be undone even if later found lawful. The court also noted that the order overlooked Order 39 Rule 3A of the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908, which mandates disposal of injunction applications within 30 days of passing an ex-parte order.
Holding this, the September 6 order was set aside. The matter has been remanded to the Senior Civil Judge to decide the injunction application afresh, after hearing both sides. The trial court has been directed to take up the matter on September 26, 2025, and endeavour to dispose of it by October 15, 2025.
The court made no finding on the merits of whether the articles were defamatory, thus, keeping all contentions open.
Appearances
Appellants- Ms. Vrinda Grover, Ld. Counsel through VC, Mr. Nakul Gandhi, Ld., Mr. Mujeeb, Mr. Tanish Gupta, Mr. Sartik Benerjee, and Mr. Denika Tulsiyani, Ld. Counsels
Respondents- Mr. Jagdeep Sharma, Ld. Senior Advocate with Mr. Vijay Aggarwal, Mr. Sunil Kumar Mittal, Mr. Nitin Ahlawat, Mr. Rajiv Tehlan, Mr. Nagesh Behl, Mr. Ayush Jindal, Mr. Naman Joshi, Mr. Guneet Sidhu, Mr. Verdaan Jain, Mr. Rahul, Mr. Vimal Khurrana, Ms. Ashu Goyal, Mr. Kaartikey, Ms.Shriya, Ms. Muskan Aggarwal, Mr. Rajat Jain, Mr. Shekhar Pathak, Ms. Aarti Vohra, Mr. Rajeev Sharma, Mr. Sachin Khatri, Mr. Ajay Gupta, Mr. Dhruv Derolia, Mr. Rishab, Mr. Mayank Sharma, Ld. Counsels
