Delhi court grants injunction in Adani defamation case against journalists and websites

New Delhi [India], September 6 (ANI): A Delhi district court has granted an interim injunction in favour of Adani Enterprises Ltd. (AEL) in its defamation suit against several journalists, NGOs, and online platforms.

The order restrains them from publishing or circulating unverified and allegedly defamatory content about the company and directs immediate removal of such material from their websites and social media accounts.

The suit names journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskanta Das, and Ayush Joshi, along with entities such as the Bob Brown Foundation, Dreamscape Network International Pvt. Ltd., Getup Ltd., Domain Directors Pty Ltd. Trading, and John Doe defendants.

Appearing for AEL, Advocate Vijay Aggarwal argued that the unchecked spread of baseless allegations had seriously damaged the company’s reputation, investor confidence, and India’s global brand image. He stressed that the right to free speech cannot override the equally protected right to reputation under Article 21 of the Constitution.

Aggarwal highlighted that defamation is a well-recognised restriction under Article 19(2), citing Subramanian Swamy v. Union of India (2016) and the Swami Ramdev judgment (2018), both of which affirmed reputation as a fundamental right. He maintained that repeated, unverified allegations amounted to a “trial by media,” which courts have consistently warned against.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal also pointed to the Supreme Court’s recent decision to order an investigation into Hindenburg Research, which admitted to short-selling Adani stocks. He argued that this background showed the damage caused by false claims, further strengthening Adani’s case for interim relief.

Concurring with these submissions, the court noted that while freedom of the press is vital in a democracy, it must be exercised with responsibility and fairness. It was observed that defamatory publications could harm investor trust, disrupt infrastructure projects, and cause irreparable damage to Adani Enterprises’ credibility.

The court directed the defendants to remove the defamatory content immediately, and no later than five days. They have also been barred from publishing any further unsubstantiated material against the company.

If the defendants fail to comply, intermediaries such as Google, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) must disable access to the content within 36 hours of notification, in line with the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, said the Court. (ANI)

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