India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma.
New Delhi: In a major legal relief to India TV Chairman and Editor-in-Chief Rajat Sharma, the Delhi High Court today directed that all ‘x’ tweets and YouTube and Facebook videos posted against him by 3 Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh be removed from the social media platforms within 7 days.
Ragini Nayak had alleged a few days ago that Rajat Sharma had allegedly abused her during a live debate on India TV during the counting of votes for the Lok Sabha elections on June 4. But the chairman of India TV strongly denied this and posted the entire video broadcast by the channel on the day of counting and challenged Ragini Nayak to prove that he had used abusive language.
Following the Delhi High Court’s interim injunction order, Rajat Sharma tweeted on Saturday: “Truth can be disturbed, not defeated.”
While granting an ex-parte interim injunction in a defamation suit in favour of India TV chairman, Delhi High Court judge Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said, “…it is directed that the ex-posts/tweets which have not been removed be removed by the respondents within 7 days in accordance with the intermediary guidelines.”
The court ordered that the URLs of YouTube videos and ‘X’ posts created by three Congress leaders – Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh and other users be taken down.
The order said that the videos which are in the public domain will be made private by Google India Pvt Ltd and will not be put into the public domain without judicial orders.
The court prima facie found that no abusive language was used by Rajat against Ragini Nayak but the insertion in the subsequent video saying “Rajat Sharma ne di gaali” was prima facie “a gross misrepresentation of the true facts”.
The judge said, “The X posts targeting the plaintiff (Rajat Sharma) are nothing but sensational and clearly misrepresent the facts. Prima facie circulation of such X posts has not only caused damage to the reputation of the plaintiff as claimed by him but there is also a danger of it being used against the plaintiff at any time in future. There is an imminent danger of misuse of the video in future, which prima facie is portraying the plaintiff in a manner which may not be based on true facts, hence it should be prevented from being in the public domain till the defamation suit is finally decided.”
The court noted that the three Congress leaders had posted an edited video on X, claiming it to be the “raw footage” of the counting day debate on India TV news channel.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna said, “The balance of convenience also lies in favour of the plaintiffs, as by making these videos private or by preventing them from being available on public platforms, the rights of freedom of speech and expression of the defendants would not in any way be infringed by them, which they may exercise within the defined parameters in any case. However, by these videos and ex-posts/tweets etc. remaining in the public domain, inconvenience is likely to be caused, which cannot be compensated in future by way of damages or otherwise.”
Justice Krishna said that prima facie it was clear from the footage of the India TV debate played in the court that Rajat Sharma had intervened for a few seconds and did not use any derogatory words against Ragini Nayak.
“While the defendants would not suffer any harm if the material is prevented from remaining in the public domain until the merits of the suit are decided, these tweets are likely to cause damage to the plaintiff’s reputation in the future, which would render the damage to their reputation virtually irreparable,” the judge said.
“Though the number of alleged defamatory x-posts/tweets and YouTube videos on intermediary platforms and in public criticism is very high, the personal dignity and honour of an individual cannot be permitted to be defamed or insulted on the basis of the right to free speech and expression,” Justice Krishna said.
“There is a fine line between defamation and public criticism and it is a difficult task for the courts to maintain the right balance between competing claims and rights,” the judge said.
India TV had posted a public response shared on the X platform tagging Ragini Nayak and Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera, stating that the allegations levelled by them were “absolutely false and baseless.”
India TV had said in its post that the allegations are malicious and defamatory and full of fake news. India TV had said that Rajat Sharma, who has been in the journalistic profession for more than four decades, has a very high credibility and reputation and is known for his cultured and civilized behavior both on and off air.
India TV told the Congress leaders, “You have violated all limits of public decency by making false allegations against a personality of high standing. We are taking legal advice on this to take further action.” India TV editor-in-chief Rajat Sharma also posted a video on X stating that he had never raised his voice at anyone and never insulted anyone during his long tenure on Indian television. Rajat Sharma’s lawyer in this case was senior advocate Maninder Singh and he argued the case in the court.
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