Delhi High Court Awards ₹5 Lakh Damages To TV Today In Defamation Case Over Tweets Against Rajdeep Sardesai

 

The Delhi High Court has awarded damages of ₹5 lakh to TV Today Network in a defamation case concerning offensive and defamatory tweets posted against journalist Rajdeep Sardesai following his interview with actor Rhea Chakraborty. The case was decided by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who found that the remarks made on social media were highly defamatory, unsupported by evidence, and damaging to professional reputation.

The dispute stemmed from an interview telecast on August 27, 2020, on TV Today, which was titled “Super Explosive” and featured Rhea Chakraborty. Soon after the broadcast, a social media user, Anurag Srivastava, posted several tweets that targeted Sardesai and the media house. One of the tweets referred to Sardesai as a “dalla” (pimp), suggesting that he lacked journalistic ethics. Another tweet compared him with controversial preacher Zakir Naik, while a third claimed that Chakraborty had paid ₹8 crore to Sardesai and India Today for airing the interview.

TV Today responded by filing a defamation suit in 2020 against Srivastava and the social media platform on which the tweets appeared. A coordinate bench of the High Court had earlier granted interim relief to the plaintiff by restraining Srivastava from publishing similar defamatory material and directing the removal of the offending tweets. Srivastava subsequently deleted the posts, but the issue of damages and accountability continued before the Court.

In its ruling, the Court held that the tweets were baseless and reckless, made without any evidence to substantiate the allegations. Justice Kaurav observed that calling someone by derogatory names or accusing them of taking bribes without proof inflicted serious harm on their dignity and professional standing. The Court emphasized that freedom of expression does not grant individuals the right to damage reputations with unverified and malicious claims.

The judgment highlighted that defamatory statements can cause emotional distress and undermine credibility, particularly for individuals in professional roles dependent on trust and integrity. While calculating damages, the Court noted that the harm caused by defamatory statements cannot be measured by a mathematical formula. Instead, compensation in such cases is determined by the gravity of the harm and the seriousness of the allegations. After considering the circumstances, the Court fixed the compensation at ₹5 lakh, which it considered just and proportionate to the injury suffered.

The Court concluded that since the offending tweets had already been taken down and future publication of similar content had been restrained, the primary issue was the award of compensation. By granting damages, the Court reinforced the principle that individuals who misuse social media platforms to circulate defamatory content must be held accountable.

This ruling underscores the responsibility of social media users to exercise caution and restraint in their online expressions. It reaffirms that even public figures are entitled to protection against baseless and damaging allegations, and the law will provide remedies when reputation is unjustly harmed.

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