Delhi HC Declines Interim Relief to Raghav Chadha in Social Media Case

Court Says No Personality Rights Issue

In a suit, Chadha had sought protection of his reputation and personality rights. His plea came up after he moved the high court against social media posts, alleging criticism against his switch from Aam Aadmi Party to Bharatiya Janata Party.

While hearing his case, Justice Subramonium Prasad observed that out of several pieces of content which were presented by the Petitioner, some may be defamatory. The court made it clear that the issue of personality rights doesn't arise in the present case. 

Court Observes Satire Not Always Defamatory

The court also said satire in politics cannot always be considered offensive or defamatory. 

“Majority of the allegedly defamatory content appears to be satirical expressions of (Chadha’s) decisions in the political sphere, and such decisions are likely to attract both bouquets and brickbats at the same time. As observed in a catena of judgments, a public figure should not be so thin-skinned so as to complain about any criticism of his decisions and such criticism ought to be viewed with humility,” the Court said.

Chadha Alleges Coordinated Online Attacks

According to lawyers for Chadha, the Rajya Sabha member had submitted to the court that a concerted, allegedly paid social media campaign was being conducted via professional social media agencies. Chadha had alleged that a well-organized and paid-for-to-harm reputation social media campaign was launched with the goal of damaging his image and public persona.

The court was told that there was evidence of some social media accounts and influencers posting paid content via influencer marketing agencies, which went viral rapidly across various platforms. The posts were allegedly distributed across hundreds of social media handles in a matter of minutes, illustrating a synchronized effort to disseminate misinformation and cause severe harm to his reputation. 

Chadha Sought Removal of Altered Online Content

The Rajya Sabha MP, who recently switched his affiliation from the Aam Aadmi Party to the Bharatiya Janata Party, had filed a suit in the Delhi High Court seeking to get immediately removed social media content that he deemed to be false, artificially created and digitally altered.

Chadha argued in his suit that the online material was malicious and had severely tarnished his reputation. The high court had reserved its order on the interim plea of Chadha on May 21 after hearing lengthy submissions.