The Delhi High Court reserved its order on Friday in the plea filed by journalist Rajat Sharma seeking interim relief against allegations made by Congress party leaders. Justice Neena Bansal Krishna reserved the order in Sharma’s plea for interim relief.
Sharma, who has demanded ₹100 crore in damages for defamation, filed the suit against Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Jairam Ramesh, and Pawan Khera. The leaders had accused Sharma of using foul language and abusing Nayak during a live television discussion.
Representing Sharma, Senior Advocate Maninder Singh argued that while the TV discussion took place on June 4, the Congress leaders began tweeting about it on June 10, incorporating expletives that were never used. Singh emphasized, “I do not belong to any political party. I am doing my professional duty. These allegations are patently false and fabricated. This is a classic case where the false information needs to be removed immediately. As long as it remains on social media, I will continue to be abused.”
Various social media handles had posted a video clip from a discussion on India TV, Sharma’s news channel, on the day of the Lok Sabha election results. The clip allegedly showed Sharma using foul language against Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak. Nayak subsequently posted the video on X (formerly Twitter) on June 10, claiming Sharma’s abusive language was evident in the clip. She also filed a police complaint against him.
On June 11, Sharma accused the Congress party’s media cell of running a false campaign and conspiring against him. He claimed that India TV had warned the Congress communication department that spreading falsehoods would amount to defamation. Sharma asserted that the Congress spokesperson was sent to provoke him intentionally.
Despite the warnings, the Congress media cell continued making defamatory allegations, prompting Sharma to take legal action. Sharma’s counsel issued a statement on India TV’s official X handle, warning Nayak and Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera against making further defamatory allegations.
The statement from Sharma’s counsel read, “We have seen your posts on social media where you have accused Mr. Sharma of using abusive language on air. The allegations made by you in your posts are absolutely false and lack any basis and foundation whatsoever. They are malicious and defamatory and clearly constitute fake news. 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.”
Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, along with Sudeep Chatterjee, Rohan Swarup, Kunal Vats, and Sanyam Suri from Singh & Singh Law Firm, represented Rajat Sharma in this case.
