- The order came on a suit filed by AEL, which alleged that coordinated publications on portals such as in, adaniwatch.org, and adanifiles.com.au, along with related posts and videos, were intended to damage the business group’s reputation and disrupt its global operations
- The injunction also empowered AEL to notify additional links for takedown, failing which intermediaries like Google, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) were instructed to remove or disable access to the content within 36 hours
- The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 9.
NE BUSINESS BUREAU
NEW DELHI, SEPT 7
In a significant relief to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), a Delhi court on Saturday restrained a group of journalists and foreign-linked NGOs from publishing or circulating unverified defamatory material against the company.
Passing an interim order, Senior Civil Judge Anuj Kumar Singh also directed the defendants to take down existing content alleged to be defamatory from websites, articles, and social media platforms.
The order came on a suit filed by AEL, which alleged that coordinated publications on portals such as paranjoy.in, adaniwatch.org, and adanifiles.com.au, along with related posts and videos, were intended to damage the business group’s reputation and disrupt its global operations.
The defendants named in the case include journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskanta Das, and Ayush Joshi, as well as the Bob Brown Foundation, Dreamscape Network International Pvt Ltd, Getup Ltd, Domain Directors Pvt Ltd (trading as Instra), and unidentified “John Doe” persons.
Observing that there was a prima facie case in AEL’s favour, the court noted:
“Even the balance of convenience lies with the plaintiff, considering that continued publication, re-posting, or trolling could further tarnish its image and may result in a media trial.”
Accordingly, the court barred the defendants from publishing, circulating, or distributing unverified and allegedly defamatory content against AEL until the next hearing. It further directed them to delete such material from their websites and social media handles within five days, where feasible.
The injunction also empowered AEL to notify additional links for takedown, failing which intermediaries like Google, YouTube, and X (formerly Twitter) were instructed to remove or disable access to the content within 36 hours.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on October 9.
