The Delhi High Court has ordered the removal of YouTube videos and news articles that accuse Dhanya Rajendran, founder of The News Minute, and several digital news publications of being “agents” of billionaire George Soros.
Justice Vikas Mahajan issued the interim injunction in favour of Rajendran in her defamation suit.
In the order dated July 15, Justice Mahajan held that the allegations were “defamatory and libelous”, made recklessly without regard for the truth, and intended to harm the reputations of Rajendran and DigiPub, an association of digital news publications and journalists.
The court ordered The Karma News, Janam TV, and the Malayalam newspaper Janambhumi to take down, remove, or block the defamatory content.
“This was a big relief. And don’t be mistaken, we will fight each time,” Rajendran posted on X.
The content in question was published following a conclave titled “Cutting South 2023,” hosted by Rajendran and independent media channels on March 25 last year. According to the suit, the name “Cutting South” was a wordplay on “Cutting Chai” and “Cutting Edge.”
The articles and videos claimed that Rajendran was acting as an agent for George Soros, with the aim of creating civil conflict in India. They also alleged that central agencies had obtained information about Rajendran’s anti-national activities and that the event aimed to “cut” and “divide” South India.
“I am of the prima facie view that the allegations in various posts/videos are not based on any credible and reliable sources for making out a case that the said allegations are true and based on facts,” the court said.
The court noted that the allegations were not based on any public record, such as a registered or pending criminal case against Rajendran. It ordered that if the media outlets fail to remove the content within 10 days, Rajendran and The News Minute may approach YouTube, which must then take down the URLs within 36 hours.
“Prima facie, I find that there is a substance in the submissions made by Mr. Rao that the alleged videos and posts contains defamatory and libellous allegations and insinuations, made in a reckless manner without regard to the truth, to injure the reputation of the plaintiffs,” the court said.
The next hearing is scheduled for October 23.
DigiPub is an association of over 100 digital media organisations and independent journalists, with its members including journalists Barkha Dutt and Ravish Kumar, and news publications such as Alt News, The Wire, The Quint, Scroll, The News Minute, and Newslaundry.
Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, representing the plaintiffs, argued that there has been a deliberate attempt to spread fake news to damage the plaintiffs’ reputation and goodwill. He presented DigiPub’s balance sheet, showing their revenue comes solely from Founder Membership Fees and Membership Fees, with foreign exchange income amounting to just Rs 22,269 as of March 31, 2022.
