The Delhi High Court has granted limited ad interim relief to senior advocate and BJP national spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia in his defamation suit against the Samajwadi Party Media Cell, several political representatives, journalists, commentators, and social media personalities. The suit arose from allegedly abusive, obscene and defamatory content circulated on X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, and other platforms after a live television debate on News18 inadvertently showed Bhatia in casual attire.
Justice Amit Bansal observed that while the impugned posts may prima facie appear defamatory, they also bore the character of satire, humour and hyperbole, and therefore a higher threshold applies when public figures and politically exposed persons allege defamation. The Court noted that such individuals have platforms to respond to criticism and that ex-parte ad interim injunctions can only be granted in exceptional circumstances.
However, the Court made clear that attacking the dignity of a person using obscene and sexually suggestive language under the guise of free speech cannot be permissible. Holding that posts made by defendants no.1 and 11, as well as a morphed image by one user were unacceptable, the Court directed their removal within strict timelines and restrained the defendants from publishing any explicit, obscene or sexually suggestive content against the plaintiff.
The Court further directed X (defendant no.6) to disclose basic subscriber information of certain defendants to the plaintiff, to facilitate further proceedings. Summons were issued, and the matter has been listed for further hearing on 19 November 2025.
Appearances:
Plaintiff: Mr. Raghav Awasthi, Ms. Simran Brar, Mr. Mukesh Sharma, Mr. Neelmani Guha, Mr. Vaibhav Dabas, Mr. Vikas Tiwari and Ms. Ruhi Ansari, Advocates with the plaintiff in person Respondent: Ms. Mamta Rani Jha, Ms. Shruttima Ehersa, Mr. Rohan Ahuja, Ms. Diya Viswanath and Ms. Aiswarya Debadarshini, Advocates for D- 27/Google LLC
