New Delhi

A Delhi court on Friday set aside an order that had directed four journalists to remove alleged defamatory content against Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), terming the earlier order “sweeping” and effectively deciding the case without a trial. The September 6 order from a civil judge had instructed the removal of articles and social media posts published by journalists Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskanta Das, and Ayush Joshi, along with other defendants, based on AEL’s defamation complaint.

District Judge Ashish Aggarwal noted that the civil court could not assume the content was “unverified, inaccurate or irresponsible” without hearing the journalists. He said the previous order was “not sustainable” and directed the trial court to pass fresh orders after giving all parties an opportunity to present their case. The judge highlighted that the ex parte injunction could have exposed authors to contempt proceedings without determining whether the content was truly defamatory, potentially creating a “chilling effect” on freedom of speech.

The court emphasized that prior hearing is essential, especially since the articles had been public for about a year, and removal via an interim order could cause irreversible harm if later found not defamatory. It also observed that the civil court overlooked certain Civil Procedure Code provisions, including the requirement to decide ex parte injunctions within 30 days, which was ignored as the next hearing was set beyond this period.

While setting aside the order, the court clarified that no judgment was made on the merits or the defamatory nature of the content. It instructed the senior civil judge to re-examine the matter after hearing both the journalists and AEL, ensuring a fair process and adherence to legal procedures.