The Delhi High Court has ordered the Samajwadi Party and its media cell to remove a “defamatory” post on X (formerly Twitter) targeting BJP IT department head Amit Malviya within four days
In an interim order issued on Friday in response to Malviya’s lawsuit against the Samajwadi Party and its media cell, the court stated that if the defendants fail to remove the post, X must take it down within 36 hours upon receiving a request to do so.
Malviya filed the lawsuit after the Samajwadi Party media cell’s account posted a tweet on August 3, accusing him of sexual misconduct.
The court found the allegation to be highly offensive, emphasizing that an individual’s reputation is an essential aspect of their personality and should not be unjustly damaged under the pretext of freedom of speech.
“Under these circumstances, the defendants are directed to take down or block the URL of the post uploaded on X, containing defamatory statements against the plaintiff, within a period of four days,” Justice Vikas Mahajan stated in the order, which was uploaded on the court’s website on Saturday.
The court further instructed that if the defendants fail to comply within the specified time, Malviya may request X to remove the post, and X must do so within 36 hours of receiving the request.
Malviya’s lawsuit argued that following his post on X addressing public outrage over a brutal gang rape of a minor girl in Ayodhya, the Samajwadi Party Media Cell retaliated by making false and defamatory allegations of sexual misconduct against him.
The court noted that the post appeared to be a retaliatory action containing defamatory and libellous accusations made recklessly, without regard to the truth, with the intent to damage Malviya’s reputation as a public figure.
The court also observed that the reputation of political figures cannot be allowed to be tarnished by baseless and defamatory statements from any political entity for petty gains. It further noted that the allegations in the offending post could harm Malviya’s political career, which has been built over the years.
The court concluded that not granting interim injunctive relief would cause grave and irreparable harm to Malviya. Alongside the interim order, the court issued summonses to the Samajwadi Party and its media cell in response to the lawsuit.
Malviya’s counsel argued in court that the post on X was “defamatory” and “utterly scandalous,” causing serious damage to his reputation and warranting urgent removal.
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