Abhijit Iyer Mitra Gets Relief As Delhi Court Stays FIR Direction In Newslaundry Editor Manisha Pande Case

Delhi court hearing revision plea filed by Newslaundry Editorial Director Manisha Pande against Abhijit Iyer Mitra over alleged social media remarks

Delhi court adjourned hearing in Newslaundry editor Manisha Pande’s plea seeking FIR against Abhijit Iyer Mitra over alleged abusive and sexually coloured remarks

By - Sukriti Mishra |

4 May 2026 3:19 PM IST

A Delhi court stayed the magistrate’s order for FIR registration against Abhijit Iyer Mitra while hearing his challenge in a case involving allegations of abusive social media posts against women journalists

A Delhi court on Monday stayed the order directing registration of an FIR against Abhijit Iyer Mitra in a complaint filed by Manisha Pande, who had alleged abusive and sexually coloured remarks against her and other women employees on social media.

Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Purushottam Pathak of Saket Court stayed the April 22 order passed by the Judicial Magistrate First Class, granting interim relief to Mitra on his challenge to the FIR direction.

The magistrate’s order, now stayed, had allowed registration of an FIR on Pande’s complaint, holding that Mitra’s posts on social media platform X amounted to “sexually coloured remarks” intended to insult the modesty of the complainant. The court had observed that the allegations disclosed cognizable offences under Sections 75(3) and 79 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita.

“On perusal of the material placed on record, this Court is of the view that the content posted by the accused qualifies as sexually coloured remarks and appears intended to insult the modesty of the complainant. Therefore, on perusal of the application and the material placed on record by the complainant, this Court is of the view that the content of the tweets posted by the accused on “X” platform discloses commission of cognizable offences under section 75(3) and 79 of BNS,” the court noted, adding that Pande had been specifically named in at least one of the tweets.

The magistrate had also noted that the alleged offences were committed in cyberspace and required police investigation.

It had also expressed dissatisfaction with the Action Taken Report (ATR) earlier filed by the police, noting that key tweets forming the basis of the complaint had not been considered. “Police investigation is necessary to verify the user account from which the tweets were published and to recover the computer source or electronic device used,” the court had said,

The matter originated from a complaint seeking action against Mitra for allegedly posting derogatory and abusive content targeting women journalists associated with Newslaundry.

The journalists have also approached the Delhi High Court with separate civil proceedings seeking damages of ₹2 crore, a public apology, and a permanent injunction against Iyer-Mitra, alleging a sustained campaign of defamation and harassment. In May 2025, the High Court had recorded Iyer-Mitra’s undertaking to delete certain posts, though the defamation suit remains pending.

Interestingly, in November 2025, Abhijit Iyer-Mitra had approached the Delhi High Court seeking dismissal of a defamation suit filed against him by nine women employees of digital news platform Newslaundry. The plaintiffs have alleged that Mitra posted defamatory content targeting them on the social media platform X. Mitra had moved the Court under Order VII Rule 11 of the Code of Civil Procedure, seeking rejection of the plaint at the preliminary stage. He has also filed an accompanying application seeking condonation of delay in filing the plea.

On September 10, 2025, the High Court had 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.

Case Title: Abhijit Iyer Mitra v. State (NCT of Delhi) and Ors.

Bench: Additional Sessions Judge (ASJ) Purushottam Pathak

Hearing Date: May 4, 2026

Abhijit Iyer Mitra Gets Relief As Delhi Court Stays FIR Direction In Newslaundry Editor Manisha Pande Case

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