Delhi Court Declines Immediate Gag Order in Anil Ambani Defamation Case

A Delhi court on Monday declined to grant an immediate ex parte order stopping the media from reporting on allegations that Anil Ambani’s companies were involved in a financial fraud of more than ₹41,000 crore.

Senior Civil Judge Vivek Beniwal of the Karkardooma Courts said that the media organisations named in the case must be heard before any temporary restraint can be considered.

Ambani has filed a defamation suit against Cobrapost, Bennett Coleman and Company Limited (which publishes The Economic Times and The Times of India), Live Media & Publishers Pvt Ltd, and certain unidentified parties. The suit challenges reports based on a Cobrapost investigation dated October 30, which alleged that the Reliance Group diverted funds worth about ₹41,921 crore since 2006.

While issuing summons in the main defamation suit, the court also issued notices on Ambani’s request for an interim injunction. The judge said that the circumstances did not justify an ex parte interim order at this stage.

Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, appearing for Ambani, told the court that the plaintiff was not pressing for an ex parte order and requested that the matter be taken up after both sides are heard.

The court has listed the case for further hearing on December 5.

Ambani maintains that the continued publication and circulation of these allegations has caused serious harm to his reputation. His legal team includes advocates Vijay Aggarwal, Naman Joshi, Guneet Sidhu, Rahul, Verdan Jain, Muskan Aggarwal, Rajat Jain, and Yash Aggarwal.