Delhi High Court Issues Notice in Businessman Vikas Garg’s Defamation Suit Against Zee Media

The Delhi High Court recently issued notice to Zee Media in a defamation suit filed by businessman Vikas Garg, who is currently under investigation for alleged Goods and Services Tax (GST) fraud.

A bench led by Justice Amit Bansal was hearing Garg’s plea seeking relief of a permanent and mandatory injunction against the allegedly defamatory videos published by Zee Media, along with damages and other ancillary reliefs.

Zee Media had aired a segment titled “2025 ka sabse bada Natwarlal”, wherein the term Natwarlal, which is used to denote a conman or fraudster in common parlance, was used for Vikas Garg.

Garg sought an interim injunction restraining the defendants from publishing or disseminating defamatory statements against him, and also sought the take-down of the defamatory material published by Zee Media on its news channel as well as other social media platforms such as X, YouTube, and Facebook.

Issuing notice, court directed the defendant to file its reply within two (2) weeks. It said, “Let a reply be filed on behalf of Defendant No. 1 within two (2) weeks. Rejoinder thereto, if any, be filed within two (2) weeks thereafter".

Although the court refused to grant an interim injunction against Zee, it allowed Garg to submit his version, which the channel is required to broadcast on its platforms.

“In the meanwhile, the plaintiff is permitted to offer his comments/response in relation to the allegedly defamatory videos aired by Defendant No. 1, either himself or through an authorized representative. The aforesaid comments/response shall be duly aired by Defendant No. 1 on their news channels,” the court said.

As per the plea, the plaintiff stated, “That Defendant No. 1, acting through its directors, officers, editors, reporters, anchors, and other associated personnel, has produced, scripted, and broadcast defamatory, false, and unsubstantiated statements against the Plaintiff in a news media report aired on 22.07.2025, which ran for about 8–9 minutes".

“The said defamatory broadcast was aired under the segment titled ‘2025 ka sabse bada Natwarlal’ and contains numerous baseless imputations concerning the Plaintiff's personal, professional, and public standing. The usage of the term ‘Natwarlal’ for the Plaintiff clearly establishes the mala fide and defamatory intent of Defendant No. 1, as this term is used for denoting a conman and a fraudster in common parlance. The reiteration of this term throughout the Defamatory Statements further establishes the deliberate and conscious attempt at defaming the Plaintiff,” the plea added.

On the other hand, Zee defended the broadcast, stating that it had relied on official findings, visited fake firm addresses for verification, and even sought Vikas Garg’s response, which he declined to give.

It further cited the Enforcement Directorate’s April 2025 press release and media reports from India Today, noting that Vikas Garg was already under investigation for his alleged role in the Mahadev scam. Zee argued that the use of the term “Natwarlal” was rhetorical and fell within the bounds of fair comment.

Taking note of the above, the high court listed the matter for further hearing on August 26, 2025.

For Plaintiff: Mr. Rajiv Nayar and Mr. Sanjay Jain, Sr. Advocates with Ms. AkankshaKaul, Mr. Sankalp Mishra and Ms. Ishika Chauhan, Advocates

For Defendants: Mr. Parag P. Tripathi, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Raghav Bhatia, Mr. Srinivasan Ramaswamy, Ms. Aparajita Sen, Advocates for D-1. Ms. Annie, Chief Legal Manager. Mr. Aditya Gupta, Ms. Aishwarya Kane and Ms. Vani Kaushik, Advocates for D-3.

Case Title: Vikas Garg vs Zee Media Corporation Ltd & Ors.

Date of Order: 25 July 2025

Bench: Justice Amit Bansal