NEW DELHI — The Delhi High Court on Monday issued summons and sought responses from journalist Sudhir Chaudhary and public broadcaster DD News on a civil defamation suit filed by 20-year-old student activist and UPSC aspirant Vijay Sherawat. Justice Subramonium Prasad directed that the plaint be registered as a formal suit while issuing notice on an application for interim relief seeking the immediate removal and takedown of a July 27 prime-time broadcast aired on Chaudhary’s daily current affairs program, “Decode”.
Appearing for Sherawat, legal counsel submitted that the case centres on severe misidentification and defamatory broadcasting concerning a demonstration held by the Cockroach Janta Party. The suit alleges that the televised broadcast falsely attributed inflammatory statements to Sherawat, depicting him as having threatened to destroy Parliament and convert India into Nepal. Denying that he ever made such remarks, the 20-year-old asserted that the news channel attributed the statements without factual verification, causing severe damage to his personal reputation and social standing.
The plaintiff has sought an interim injunction restraining Chaudhary, his production entity, and the television network from telecasting, publishing, or circulating the program or any related defamatory clips across social media platforms, alongside a complete takedown of the existing broadcast. The High Court clarified that it has expressed no opinion on the merits of the allegations or on whether the material is defamatory, noting that it will consider the prayer for interim protection after reviewing the defendants’ replies. The matter has been scheduled for further hearing on September 22, with the bench directing both Chaudhary and the broadcaster to be prepared to advance arguments on the plea for interim relief.
