Journalist Ravi Nair’s plea challenging his arrest and non-bailable warrant was heard by the Gujarat High Court

The Gujarat High Court on Monday allowed Adani Enterprises Limited to file its response to journalist Ravi Nair’s petition challenging his arrest and custody pursuant to a non-bailable warrant issued in a criminal defamation case filed by the company.

Justice M.K. Thakker, who had issued notice on Nair’s petition on Saturday, granted Adani Enterprises an opportunity to place “certain legal and factual aspects” on record.

Nair’s counsel, Advocate Abhik Chimni, opposed the request for time and pressed for interim relief, submitting that the matter had already reached the appellate stage and that his client should not have to “spend even a day in jail.” Chimni also argued that Adani Enterprises, being a private complainant, should not be permitted to seek repeated adjournments.

The High Court, however, allowed the complainant an opportunity to respond, observing that since Adani Enterprises was represented pursuant to the notice issued by the Court, it was entitled to a fair opportunity to place its case on record. The Court made it clear that no further adjournment would be granted.

The matter will next be heard on September 23.

Nair challenged Non-Bailable warrant and custody

Nair approached the High Court after the Gandhinagar Sessions Court rejected his application seeking cancellation of the non-bailable warrant and ordered that he be taken into judicial custody on September 17. He has also challenged the Sessions Court’s September 3 order, under which the Court held that he was absent and had allegedly been deliberately avoiding arrest.

Nair has sought restoration of the March 9 order by which the Sessions Court had suspended his sentence and released him on bail. His petition contends that the non-bailable warrant was issued without prior notice or summons and without first resorting to a bailable warrant. He has argued that the procedure followed by the Sessions Court was contrary to the law laid down by the Supreme Court.

Criminal defamation conviction

The proceedings stem from Nair’s conviction by a Judicial Magistrate First Class at Mansa in Gandhinagar district in a criminal defamation complaint filed by Adani Enterprises.

In February 2026, the Magistrate convicted Nair and sentenced him to one year of simple imprisonment along with a fine of ₹5,000 over a series of posts on X and articles published between October 2020 and July 2021.

Nair subsequently challenged the conviction before the Sessions Court. His sentence was suspended and he was granted bail subject to conditions, including regular appearance before the appellate court, prior permission before leaving India, deposit of his passport and restrictions on changing his residential address or mobile number without permission.

According to Nair, he ordinarily resides in Kerala and is not a resident of Gujarat. He has contended that requiring his personal appearance at every hearing caused substantial travel, expense and hardship, while his advocate remained present before the appellate court.

September 3 Absense and Arrest

On September 3, Nair did not appear personally before the Sessions Court and sought exemption from personal appearance. The application was rejected and a non-bailable warrant was subsequently issued. Nair later appeared before the Sessions Court on September 17 and sought cancellation of the warrant. The application was rejected and he was taken into judicial custody the same day.

His counsel had told the High Court during the earlier hearing that the non-bailable warrant had been issued directly against Nair without prior notice or summons. The High Court had thereafter issued notice to the Gujarat government and Adani Enterprises. Nair is also facing other criminal proceedings initiated by entities associated with the Adani Group. His petition before the High Court concerns the warrant, his subsequent arrest and the order directing his custody.

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