Defamation Case: Delhi Court Summons Sudarshan TV Head Suresh Chavhanke, Six Others (Photo on X@SureshChavhanke)
A Delhi Court has summoned Sudarshan News chairman and managing director Suresh Chavhanke in a defamation case filed by Mohd Tufail Khan and a madrasa, Jamia Arabia Nizamia Welfare Educational Society. Mohd Tufail Khan, who is running an NGO, submitted that his society is engaging in various social services, including providing shelter, food, and education to about 70 orphans.
Notably, following the allegations by an Islamic scholar, Mufti Wajahat Qasmi in 2022 that the Jamia Arabia Nizamia was indulging in anti-national activities, they were telecast on Sudarshan TV, which included interviews. Khan later filed a criminal defamation complaint against Qasmi, Sudarshan TV, including its chief Suresh Chavhanke, who anchored a program with the allegations against Jamia Arabia Nizamia.
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Khan alleged that the media defamed him by calling a ‘Bangladeshi,’ adding that his phone number was also circulated, and hence receiving death threats. He also claimed that false and derogatory accusations against him were then telecast by Sudarshan TV in a programme aired on April 12, 2023, reports Bar and Bench. Further, Khan told the court that Sudarshan News’ managing director Suresh Chavhanke and another Sudarshan News official Maya Chavhanke defamed him by organising another TV show which was telecasted on their channel with the title “Logo ko dafanane wali jagah par banaya Dargah.”
The Saket Court judge, Kartik Tapariya, found the alleged acts of the accused persons prima facie to be defamatory. The court said that from the material placed on record and the presummoning evidence led by the complainant, it prima facie appears that the tweet published by accused No. 1, the act of accused No. 2 by calling complainant ‘Bangladeshi’ in front of several people, and the interviews given by the accused No. 1, 3, and 4 are prima facie defamatory.
“Further, I have also seen the thumbnails as adverted to by the complainant and watched the alleged defamatory videos. I am satisfied that there is prima facie material against the anchor, i.e., Accused No. 5, News Company, i.e., Accused No. 6, and the director cum editor, i.e., Accused No. 7, to summon them for the offenses alleged,” the judge added.
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Notably, Suresh Chavhanke is known as a hate monger who has in the past delivered communal speeches targeting Muslims and calling India a Hindu nation.
In 2023, the Sangamner police in Maharashtra’s Ahmednagar district booked Suresh Chavhanke for spreading religious hatred and promoting animosity between communities. He was part of right-wing sloganeering that targeted the Muslim community and subsequent incidents of assault.
