Delhi HC orders removal of tweets by Cong leaders against Rajat Sharma within 7 days

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Saturday, ordered the removal of social media posts made by Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera alleging that senior journalist Rajat Sharma, the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Independent News Service (INDIA TV), used abusive language on air during a live debate show on the Lok Sabha election result day.

Granting ex-parte ad interim injunction order in favour of Sharma in his defamation suit, Justice Neena Bansal Krishna ordered:

“…it is directed that the X Posts/Tweets which have not been removed, be removed within seven days by defendants in terms of the Intermediary Guidelines.”

The court further directed that the videos which are in the public domain be made private by Google India and not to be put in the public domain, without judicial orders.

The URLs ordered to be removed are YouTube videos and Twitter posts made by the three Congress leaders, Indian National Congress and other users.

The controversy arose after Congress national spokesperson Ragini Nayak accused Sharma of abusing her on national television on the counting day of 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

Justice Krishna noted that the three Congress leaders posted an edited video on X claiming it to be the 'Raw Footage' of the debate held on the voting day on India TV New Channel.

However, the court said, that from the footage of the TV debate which was played in the Court, it was prima facie evident that Rajat Sharma had barely intervened for a few seconds and no abusive language was used against Ragini Nayak.

Furthermore, Justice Sharma prima facie observed there was no abuse given by Rajat Sharma to Nayak but in subsequent videos, insertion was made that “Rajat Sharma Ne Di Gaali” which prima facie was a “total misrepresentation of the true facts.”

In a public response shared on X, India TV tagged Nayak and Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera and said that the allegations made by them on their social media posts are “absolutely false and lacked any basis and foundation whatsoever.”

The post also said that the allegations are malicious and defamatory and constitute fake news.

It further said that Sharma, who has been in the journalism profession for more than four decades, has a very high degree of credibility and reputation and is known for his cultured and civilised behaviour, both on and off the air.

“You have blatantly violated all limits of public decency by falsely accusing a personality of high repute. We are taking legal advice on this to take further action,” the post added.