The Delhi High Court on Thursday expressed concern over social media posts made by Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) spokesperson Saurav Das, alleging that BJP leader and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia had called Swatantra Bhardwaj a “dimagi naxal”.
During the hearing of Bhatia’s defamation suit, Das and CJP co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka undertook to remove the posts within 24 hours.
A bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela said allegations should not be made without proper verification. The court also observed that while young people have the right to express their views, such expressions should be communicated more carefully.
“There are different ways of protesting,” the judge observed, adding that “attacking certain things without verifying may not be correct”.
The court further advised the parties to consider other ways of expressing criticism instead of getting involved in prolonged litigation.
Dispute over AI-generated graphic
The defamation suit was filed by Bhatia after Das shared an AI-generated graphic on X on September 5, alleging that the BJP leader had described Bhardwaj as a “dimagi naxal”.
Das subsequently deleted the post after Bhatia gave him 24 hours to remove it and issue an unconditional apology. However, Das later said on X that the graphic was AI-generated and questioned Bhatia over whether he disagreed with the statement attributed to him.
During Thursday’s hearing, Das’s counsel told the court that the tweet in question had already been deleted.
Court issues summons in defamation suit
The court declined to immediately restrain Das and Ranka from posting further content, taking note of their undertaking to remove the posts.
However, it directed Meta and X to take down identical posts in future if they are flagged by Bhatia.
The court also issued summons in the defamation suit and sought responses from Das, Ranka and CJP founder Abhijit Dipke. Dipke was represented by advocate Nakul Gandhi.
Bhatia had urged the court to grant an injunction, arguing that another post had been published during the hearing. He submitted that such conduct should not be treated leniently, particularly because the account involved has millions of followers.
The court, while acknowledging Bhatia’s right to protect his reputation, also stressed that criticism and lampooning are part of public discourse.
The case comes amid heightened political and legal activity surrounding the CJP and Bhardwaj. The Delhi Police had earlier detained a 21-year-old right-wing content creator accused of severely injuring a 38-year-old man during the Jantar Mantar protests in June, according to officers.
