Abhijit Iyer-Mitra’s Tweets Not Defamatory: Delhi HC on Fresh Plea Filed by Newslaundry Journalists

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday orally remarked that the recent tweets by Abhijit Iyer-Mitra were not defamatory while hearing a fresh petition filed by Newslaundry’s Managing Editor Manisha Pande and other women journalists. The plea sought the takedown of a series of allegedly defamatory tweets recently posted by him.

The matter was heard by Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav, who observed, “Let the matter be pending, in order to see how Mitra behaves. If there is any repeated recurrence on his part, we will consider. Today, we are not passing any order.”

In its order, the court recorded: “During the course of the hearing, for the time being, the court deems it appropriate to defer the hearing of this application.”

Appearing for the Newslaundry journalists, Advocate Bani Dixit referred to Mitra’s tweets, contending that he was “very proud of the fact that what is on page number 8 is in fact poetry.” She argued that the alleged post was clearly defamatory.

The bench, however, noted that the specific post in question had been retweeted by someone else. “You have to show me that after the order passed by the court, the defendant himself has posted,” Justice Kaurav said. To this, Dixit submitted, “He is making an innuendo qua the posts he has already made. The referencing is very clear.”

The court disagreed, observing that since Defendant No. 1 (Mitra) had not made the fresh tweet himself, he could not be held responsible for tweets made by others. “We can direct Twitter or whatever the agency is, they can give you details of the URL,” the judge added.

Referring to Mitra’s tweet, the court remarked, “That tweet cannot be said to be defamatory. The earlier tweet was completely impermissible in law, and he had agreed to take it down. Now this small line, ‘basti’, he says, you should not be like this.”

The bench referred to Mitra’s reply filed in court, in which he clarified that the present post had no connection with his earlier tweets. “There has to be some balancing. Defendant No. 1 has already taken down those tweets that we directed. If someone else is doing it now, we will direct them.”

The matter will next be heard on October 16, 2025

Earlier, a defamation suit was filed by women employees of Newslaundry, including Managing Editor Manisha Pande, alleging that Abhijit Iyer-Mitra had posted defamatory tweets targeting them.

While hearing the defamation suit filed by Newslaundry Managing Editor Manisha Pande against Abhijit Iyer-Mitra, the court remarked that the kind of language used by him was not acceptable in a civilized society under any circumstances.

The court perused the material on record and took note of the language used in the impugned post. Justice Kaurav observed that such language could not be justified under any circumstances, stating, ‘You should have immediately taken down this kind of language. The choice of words was unacceptable in a civilised society. Unless he took down this language, he would not be heard.’ He directed that the content in question be taken down immediately. The court emphasised that unless Abhijit removed the defamatory remarks, it would not entertain his counsel's arguments.

Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, appearing for Abhijit, argued that the remarks were not directed at the individual women plaintiffs but were criticisms of the organisation. He further claimed that Newslaundry was not a “holy” organisation as it portrayed itself to be, referring to an old interview that allegedly involved a sensitive case concerning a minor. Nonetheless, the court maintained that regardless of the defendant's views on the organization, the language used in public discourse must remain within the bounds of decency.

At a subsequent hearing on May 26, the senior counsel appearing for Mitra prayed the court to investigate the Newslaundry News Channel, claiming that it reports false news or rumours. He alleged that the channel made insinuations and cast aspersions on public figures, including a rumour regarding relations between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Prime Minister of Italy, Giorgia Meloni.

Although Mitra informed the court that the order had been complied with and the posts taken down, Advocate Bani Dixit, appearing for the plaintiffs, pointed out that one post was still accessible. The court then directed Mitra to re-examine all posts, while noting that he had already undertaken not to publish defamatory content.”

The court acknowledged that Mitra had given an undertaking not to post defamatory content. It was observed that the defendant had posted content, realised his fault, and gave an undertaking to remove the posts. The bench stated, "We are not restraining you from posting anything. Here in this case, you crossed a Lakshman Rekha. So long as your posts are within the right to speech, it is okay. When it becomes defamatory, then it becomes problematic".

The bench reiterated that while the right to free speech is protected under the constitution but it does not extend to defamatory statements. After hearing both sides, the court granted liberty to the plaintiffs to initiate appropriate legal proceedings in the future if any new defamatory content was published by Mitra.

Case Title: Manisha Pande v Abhijit Iyer Mitra

Hearing Date: 10 September 2025

Bench: Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav