A Delhi court on Saturday issued fresh bailable warrants against YouTuber and social media influencer Dhruv Rathee in connection with an eight-year-old criminal defamation case.
Judicial Magistrate First Class Rahul Jain of the Saket Courts passed the order after noting that previous warrants were executed at an incorrect address in Austria rather than his Gurugram residence.
The proceedings stem from a criminal defamation complaint filed by Vikas Sanskrityayan over a May 2018 video titled “BJP IT Cell Part II” uploaded on Rathee’s YouTube channel.
In the video, Rathee alleged that members of the BJP IT Cell attempted to bribe Sanskrityayan to defame him. Contesting the claims as false, malicious, and damaging to his reputation, Sanskrityayan initiated legal proceedings against both Rathee and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who had reshared the video.
While proceedings against Kejriwal took a separate course after he acknowledged sharing the clip was a mistake, the original complaint against Rathee continued.
During Saturday’s hearing, the complainant’s counsel informed the court that Rathee had left India and was currently residing overseas. Earlier in October, the complainant had provided a Gurugram address where Rathee was staying while visiting India for a political protest.
Following the non-execution of the previous warrants, the court issued fresh warrants and listed the matter for further hearing on November 23.
