The Delhi High Court on Thursday asked the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) and its representatives to remove social media posts targeting BJP leader and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia after the court questioned allegations made without proper verification.
The matter came up during the hearing of a defamation suit filed by Bhatia against CJP spokesperson Saurav Das, co-convenor Ashutosh Ranka and founder Abhijit Dipke. The case relates to an AI-generated graphic shared by Das on X, which allegedly claimed that Bhatia had described Swatantra Bhardwaj as a “dimagi naxal”.
During the hearing, Das and Ranka undertook to take down the posts within 24 hours. Das’s lawyer also told the court that the original tweet had already been deleted.
A bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela observed that making allegations without properly checking the facts was not appropriate. The court said people have the right to protest and express criticism, but such views should be presented in a more responsible and articulate manner.
The court also noted that public figures and political groups have different ways of expressing disagreement and suggested that unnecessary personal attacks should be avoided.
Bhatia’s legal team argued that the matter was serious because the post had been shared from an account with a large number of followers. Bhatia also told the court that another similar post had allegedly appeared during the hearing and sought an injunction against further publication.
The court, however, did not immediately impose a blanket restriction on Das and Ranka from posting further content, particularly in view of their undertaking to remove the disputed material. At the same time, the court directed social media platforms Meta and X to take down identical content in the future if it is flagged by Bhatia in accordance with the court’s directions.
The Delhi High Court also issued summons in the defamation case and sought responses from Das, Ranka and CJP founder Abhijit Dipke. Dipke was represented by advocate Nakul Gandhi.
The dispute began after Das shared the AI-generated graphic on September 5. Although he later deleted it, Das reportedly clarified on X that the image was AI-generated and questioned Bhatia over whether he disagreed with the statement attributed to him.
During the hearing, the court emphasised that criticism and political disagreement are part of public discourse, but also recognised Bhatia’s right to protect his reputation.
The case comes amid heightened political exchanges on social media, where AI-generated images and posts can quickly reach large audiences. The court’s observations highlight the importance of verifying claims before publishing potentially defamatory material online.
The Delhi High Court will continue to hear the defamation proceedings as the respondents prepare their responses to Bhatia’s allegations.
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