ANI seeks Rs 2.1 crore in damages, takedown of video from YouTuber Mohak Mangal over ‘extortion’ claims

New Delhi: News agency Asian News International (ANI) is seeking damages worth Rs 2.1 crores, takedown of the video, and no further trademark infringement in the defamation suit filed against YouTuber Mohak Mangal. 

Slated to be heard in the Delhi High Court today, the suit filed by the wire agency stated that Mangal falsely accused ANI of extortion and blackmail, and orchestrated a calculated attack on the agency’s credibility and commercial reputation.

ANI also added comedian Kunal Kamra and AltNews co-founder Mohammed Zubair as defendants, in the defamation suit, for sharing the video uploaded by Mangal in their respective X handles.

The row began when, on May 25, Mangal published a video where he alleged that ANI initiated YouTube copyright strikes against his channel and then demanded a payment of over Rs 40 lakh to withdraw the strikes. Mangal labeled the practice as “extortion and blackmail.”

ANI, taking cognizance of the video, filed a petition in the Delhi HC. In its petition, the agency stated that Mangal has admitted to using its copyrighted video content for monetisation but has still gone ahead and released “a deliberately misleading and defamatory video” that seeks to damage the reputation of ANI and its registered trademarks. 

The suit further points out that the video makes repeated use of ANI’s logos and content while attacking the very legitimacy of those assets, an act that ANI claims is a misuse of its trademark protections under Indian law.

The matter is listed before Justice Amit Bansal and is expected to be presented before the court today.