MUMBAI: The Delhi High Court has directed X user Anurag Srivastava to pay Rs 5 lakh in damages to TV Today for defamatory posts on X targeting the channel and its journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. The posts were made in reaction to an interview with actor Rhea Chakraborty that aired in 2020.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav held that the posts were “highly defamatory” and had not been backed by evidence, despite the defendant being given enough opportunity to do so.
“The Court finds that the objectionable tweets were highly defamatory and remain unsubstantiated by the defendant, despite having been afforded sufficient opportunity to do so. Such an irresponsible act of the defendant has to be deprecated.
“Having considered the overall circumstances, this Court deems it just and proper to award Rs 5,00,000 as general compensatory damages to the plaintiff, to redress the reputational harm, emotional hardship, and loss of professional credibility caused by the conduct of the defendant,” the order read.
The case was filed in 2020 by TV Today against Srivastava, who operated the handles @theanuragkts and @theanuragoffice on X (formerly Twitter).
Soon after the interview went live, Srivastava posted derogatory comments about Sardesai, including calling him a “dalla,” (a derogatory Hindi term implying ‘pimp’), and comparing him to controversial preacher Zakir Naik. He also alleged that Chakraborty had bribed both Sardesai and the channel to secure the interview.
TV Today told the court that these remarks were part of a “systematic attack” on the anchor and the network’s reputation. It added that the damage extended to its business as well, pointing out that annual income fell from Rs 899.57 crore in 2019–20 to Rs 819.92 crore in 2020–21.
Srivastava later deleted the posts and assured the court that he would not repost them. Interim orders had already restrained him from uploading similar content.
The High Court has now directed him to pay Rs 5 lakh to TV Today as compensation for reputational harm and loss of credibility.