Gaurav Bhatia Defamation Case: CJP’s Saurav Das, Ashutosh Ranka Undertake Before Delhi HC To Delete Posts Within 24 Hours

Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) leaders Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka on Thursday undertook before the Delhi High Court to delete, within 24 hours, social media posts concerning BJP leader and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, in a ₹2-crore defamation suit filed by Bhatia.

The bench of Justice Tushar Rao Gedela was hearing the matter.

Court asked the CJP and Abhijeet Dipke to file their responses in Bhatia’s defamation suit as well. Court, however, did not grant a dynamic injunction against the defendants at this stage.

The matter arose from an AI-generated post which allegedly attributed certain remarks about Swatantra Bhardwaj to Bhatia. Bhatia has denied making the remarks and alleged that the publication and subsequent social media posts were damaging his reputation.

During the hearing earlier in the day, Bhatia, appearing in person, described the matter as one of “aggravated defamation”. He submitted that the posts should not remain online as the defendants had a large following and their publication was causing damage to his image.

“These posts can’t be on the internet. They have millions of followers. It is causing damage to my image,” Bhatia submitted.

Bhatia also told the court that he had given the defendants an opportunity to resolve the issue, but they made more such posts.

Court had earlier asked the defendants to consider voluntarily taking down the posts rather than having a takedown order passed against them. After the matter was taken up again following a passover, counsel for Das and Ranka informed the court that they would remove the tweets.

Court subsequently recorded the undertakings that the posts would be removed within 24 hours.

Bhatia nevertheless pressed for a dynamic injunction, arguing that the defendants continued to make posts even after the proceedings began. He also sought directions to social-media platforms to remove the allegedly fake picture.

Court asked Bhatia whether he had approached the platforms concerned, including Meta, pointing out that there were mechanisms under the applicable rules for seeking removal of such content.

Counsel appearing for Meta submitted that the plaint contained one URL which was a newspaper report about the incident and argued that the platform could not proactively censor content.

Court said it would consider the issue after the defendants filed their replies.

Bhatia also alleged that Das was a “habitual offender” and had previously made comments concerning the judiciary.

Court issued summons in the suit to Das, Ranka, Dipke and CJP. It also directed X to place on record the Basic Subscriber Information relating to the relevant accounts within three weeks.

On the possibility of similar content appearing in the future, court permitted Bhatia to approach X and Meta if similar or identical posts were published. The platforms may consider such complaints and take appropriate action, court said.

Why did Gaurav Bhatia approach the court?

Bhatia's suit arises from the September 5 post published by Das and Ranka following the arrest of Swatantra Bhardwaj, who is accused of assaulting a teenage CJP protester.

According to Bhatia's suit, the AI-generated post falsely depicted him as describing Bhardwaj as a “dimagi naxali” and “jaatiwaadi”. He has alleged that the defendants were not merely criticising any statement actually made by him but falsely presented him as the author of statements he had never made.

The suit further alleges that the fabricated statement was placed alongside Bhatia's photograph, creating a false association between him and the remarks.

Bhatia has sought ₹2 crore in damages and other reliefs in the defamation proceedings.

The plea also refers to other social-media posts by CJP members, which Bhatia relies upon to allege a broader pattern of online attacks. In particular, the suit refers to posts by Das concerning Justice Swarna Kanta Sharma and the incarceration of Umar Khalid, alleging that Das's conduct extends beyond criticism of particular judicial orders and amounts to attacks on the judiciary as an institution.

Case Title: Gaurav Bhatia vs. Saurav Das and Others

Hearing Date: September 10, 2026

Bench: Justice Tushar Rao Gedela