Delhi High Court Issues Summons in Defamation Suit Against Journalist Sudhir Chaudhary
In a significant legal development, the Delhi High Court has summoned journalist Sudhir Chaudhary, his production company Essprit Productions, and the public broadcaster Prasar Bharati (DD News) in connection with a defamation lawsuit initiated by activist Vijay Sherawat.
The legal action stems from a controversial broadcast aired on August 27, where Chaudhary allegedly stated that Sherawat had made anti-national remarks during the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest. Specifically, it was claimed that Sherawat had called for the destruction of Parliament and advocated for a situation similar to Nepal in India. Sherawat vehemently denies these allegations and is seeking ₹5 crore in damages.
Court Proceedings and Interim Injunction
Justice Subramonium Prasad, presiding over the case, issued the summons and also addressed Sherawat’s application for an interim injunction. The injunction seeks to prevent Chaudhary and other involved parties from further broadcasting or circulating the contentious allegations. The court has scheduled the next hearing on September 22, at which time the defendants are expected to present their arguments regarding the interim stay.
The court emphasized the urgency of resolving the issue and expects the defendants to be prepared for a detailed discussion on the interim injunction during the upcoming hearing.
Details of the Defamation Suit
According to the defamation suit, an episode of the program “DECODE,” hosted by Chaudhary, wrongly identified and displayed Sherawat’s image, associating him with the incendiary slogans. Sherawat contends that he never made such statements and that they were, in fact, uttered by an unidentified individual at another event. Furthermore, he asserts that the two individuals bear no resemblance to each other.
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Sherawat’s legal team argues that there was a failure in verifying the facts before airing the program and claims that the footage used was intentionally of low quality, making it difficult to discern the differences between Sherawat and the actual speaker. The lawsuit further details the fallout from the broadcast, highlighting how the clip quickly spread across major social media platforms like X and Instagram, leading to Sherawat receiving numerous threats, including death threats.
Despite his attempts to clarify the situation via an Instagram post, Sherawat’s message reached a limited audience compared to the extensive viewership of the national broadcast, which boasts 1.4 billion digital views.
The defamation suit is being pursued with the assistance of Advocates Pushp Sharma, Aditya Narayan Shukla, Jai Allagh, and Prasoon Shekhar.
