Delhi HC Orders Takedown Of News18 Debate Video Containing BJP Spokesperson’s Alleged Defamatory Remarks Against Congress Representative

The Delhi High Court has ordered News18 to remove a YouTube video of a news debate in which BJP spokesperson Sanju Verma made alleged derogatory remarks against Congress spokesperson Dr. Shama Mohamed.

The Single-Bench of Justice Vikas Mahajan also directed X (formerly Twitter) to delete over a dozen tweets that harmed Mohamed’s reputation.

Advocate Muhammad Ali Khan appeared for the plaintiff. 

In the debate, Verma used terms such as “Bewakoof Aurat” and accused Mohamed of being “Madrassa Bred” and “shameless.” The Court noted these comments were potentially defamatory and damaging to Mohamed’s reputation, given her role as a Congress spokesperson and her profession as a dentist. The Court censured Verma’s conduct as reckless and lacking the basic civility expected in public debates.

“The said posts contain comments like ‘Madrasa breed bigot is the correct technical term for an Islamist who wants to spread caste poison in Hindus using lies’, ‘Madrasa-Chaap Bigot Shama’, ‘But that’s truth. U ppl are not just Madarsah-bred bigots but also inbred bigots’ etc. Mere reading of such comments would show that these comments have been made in a reckless manner without any justification, even disregarding the basic etiquettes and demeanour expected of the panelists in a public debate," the Court said. 

The Bench emphasized that freedom of speech, as enshrined in Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution, must not infringe upon others' rights or public interest, especially in defamation cases. He stated that political functionaries, who invest years building public reputations, cannot have their images undermined by baseless attacks.

"It is trite law that reputation is an integral and important aspect of  dignity of every individual. It is equally well settled that rights conferred by Article 19(1)(a) are subject to reasonable restrictions in the interest of the public or decency or morality, or in relation to defamation or incitement of an offence. This freedom needs to be exercised with circumspection and cannot be permitted to violate the rights of other citizens and to jeopardize their public interest. More so, in case of political functionaries, who spend their lifetime in building their image in the public, which cannot be permitted to be tumbled by baseless, defamatory statements by any political entity/individual for petty gains," the Court said. 

The defamation suit was filed by Mohamed against Verma and News18, with the Court granting an ad-interim takedown order. Mohamed’s counsel argued that the channel had a history of allowing defamatory comments in its debates, with past actions by the National Broadcasting and Digital Standards Authority imposing penalties on it for ethical violations.

Cause Title: Dr. Shama Mohamed v. Smt. Sanju Verma and Ors. [Neutral Citation No. 2024: DHC: 8354] 

Appearance:-

Plaintiff: Advocates Muhammad Ali Khan, Omar Hoda, Eesha Bakshi, S. M. Khursheed, Uday Bhatia, K Sharma

Click here to read/download the Judgment