The Delhi High Court has directed the removal of five online posts deemed defamatory towards BJP Rajya Sabha member Raghav Chadha. These posts allegedly insinuated that Chadha had accepted money in exchange for switching from the Aam Aadmi Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party. However, the court declined to issue a blanket order for removing other content or provide broader protection to Chadha’s reputation.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, on a single-judge Bench, clarified that the dispute did not involve a breach of personality rights. While ordering the removal of only five documents, the judge stated that the remaining content was not prima facie defamatory. Chadha had approached the court seeking safeguarding of his personality and publicity rights against unauthorized use of his identity on digital platforms, including AI-generated and manipulated content.
The court reserved its decision on Chadha’s plea in May, noting that the criticized content primarily addressed a political decision and did not violate personality rights. Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Chadha, argued that certain posts crossed the line from criticism to defamation by falsely depicting the MP as someone who had sold himself for money. However, the court suggested that the issue leaned more towards defamation than infringement of personality rights.
Justice Prasad differentiated between defamation and criticism, indicating that the matter might not necessitate an interim injunction based on personality rights. He also advised Chadha to consider amending the complaint if he intended to pursue defamation claims.
