Delhi HC Orders ₹5 Lakh Compensation to TV Today Over Defamatory Tweets Against Rajdeep Sardesai
The Delhi High Court has awarded ₹5 lakh in compensation to TV Today Network for defamatory tweets directed at the channel and its journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. The tweets were posted by Anurag Srivastava soon after Sardesai’s 2020 interview with actress Rhea Chakraborty was broadcast on the channel.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav held that the tweets were “highly defamatory” and not backed by any evidence. The Court observed that such conduct had damaged the reputation of both the journalist and the media house, caused emotional hardship, and reduced professional credibility.
The defamatory posts had described Sardesai using derogatory terms, compared him with terror-accused Zakir Naik, and even alleged that Rhea Chakraborty had bribed him and the channel for the interview. One of the tweets carried the hashtag #ShameOnAajTak.
TV Today argued that the remarks were part of a systematic attempt to malign Sardesai and harm the organisation’s reputation. The company also pointed out that its revenues dropped from ₹899.57 crore in 2019-20 to ₹819.92 crore in 2020-21, partly attributing the decline to the controversy.
Though Srivastava later deleted the posts and gave an undertaking not to re-post them, the Court noted the seriousness of the harm already caused. Along with continuing the restraint on posting such content, the Court directed him to pay ₹5 lakh as general damages to TV Today.
