The Delhi High Court has issued notices to several YouTube channels and social media handles based on a plea filed by senior advocate and BJP Leader Gaurav Bhatia, alleging defamatory statements against him concerning an incident at a Noida court where he was reportedly manhandled.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna declined to issue an ex-parte order without hearing the other parties involved in the matter. The high court issued notices to 13 defendant YouTube channels and X handles regarding the application for interim relief to remove the offending content. It also issued summons for the defamation suit and scheduled the hearing for April 8.
Notices were also issued to X (formerly Twitter) and Google. During the hearing, the high court remarked that something very unfortunate had occurred and noted that the Supreme Court had equally taken cognizance of the incident.
Represented by advocates Raghav Awasthi and Mukesh Sharma, Bhatia sought direction for the 13 defendants to pay damages exceeding Rs 2 crore for allegedly making defamatory statements against him using X and YouTube platforms. He also requested a permanent injunction against the defendants, restraining them from publishing any defamatory allegations against him.
His lawyers argued that the videos contained baseless allegations despite the true events being recorded in the Supreme Court’s order, which took suo motu cognizance of the incident. They further highlighted that one of the videos justified violence and could potentially incite physical harm against the lawyer.
Awasthi mentioned that some videos alleged Bhatia had gone to the Noida court to represent influencer Elvish Yadav, which they contended was entirely untrue. Bhatia is also a BJP national spokesperson.
On March 21, the Supreme Court took note of the alleged manhandling of Bhatia in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district court on March 20. It directed the concerned district judge to ensure the CCTV footage of the incident was safely preserved pending further orders and ordered a report to be submitted on the incident.
The apex court expressed concern that a strike by members of the bar affected the litigants, who are crucial stakeholders in the justice system. The Supreme Court Bar Association also condemned the misconduct of a lawyer in the district court against Bhatia.