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Gaurav Srivastava, a businessman, investor, entrepreneur, and philanthropist based in Los Angeles, California, asserted that he built a global reputation and goodwill over 12 years through his consultancy services and community contributions
The Delhi High Court to hear a defamation suit filed by an Indian-American businessman Gaurav Srivastava against India Today prohibiting them from publishing, circulating, republishing, or transmitting any false or defamatory statements concerning the said businessman. The plea will be listed before the bench of Justice Pratibha M Singh.
The plea stated, ‘That by making and disseminating patently false statements & imputations, against the plaintiff, the Defendants have caused severe damage to the reputation of the Plaintiff’.
Srivastava, represented by Advocate Abhishek Singh, sought damages for the harm caused to his image and reputation. Srivastava also requested India Today to disclose the details of the organizations or individuals on whose behalf the defamatory material was published. Further, Srivastava sought the removal of all defamatory material and the publication of an unconditional apology.
The article titled ‘Joe Biden's Campaign Freezes Donations from Indian-American Businessman’, claimed that Joe Biden's re-election campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had frozen donations from Gaurav Srivastava, an Indian-American businessman, due to concerns over his false claims of CIA association and questionable business practices.
Additionally, the article indicated that the Atlantic Council severed ties with him after failing to verify his background. Srivastava, who has made various political donations, falsely claimed employment with AECOM and later listed himself as chairman of Unity Resource Group. The fallout has led several Democratic politicians to redirect his donations to local charities.
Per Srivastava’s plea, India Today for personal gain began circulating false articles accusing Srivastava of wrongdoing and labeling him a ‘conman’ without verification. In May 2024, Srivastava learned of these defamatory publications through friends, family, and business associates.
Shocked by the false content, Srivastava, served a legal notice on May 20, 2024, demanding India Today cease publishing defamatory material, remove existing defamatory content, disclose the sources behind the publications, and issue an unconditional apology. He also demanded Rs. 5 Crores in damages. Despite receiving the legal notice, India Today neither complied nor replied.
The plea further stated, ‘The Defendants has done so with the mala fide intention of bringing the Plaintiff into a state of disrepute and in order to inflict harm to his reputation in the society, moreover the Defendants failed to verify the contents and just published/ circulated / transmitted / Re-Published false/ incorrect information regarding the Plaintiff, at large scale to enhance the main stream revenues/ viewership etc.’.
The plea stated that India Today continued to publish false articles, alleging that was Srivastava involved in scams, without any evidence. These actions severely damaged Srivastava’s reputation.
Accordingly, Srivastava is seeking a mandatory and permanent injunction against India Today, The Tribune, The Times of UP, UP18News, Start Up Club, Ceo Club, Start Up Insider, Tumbler blogs, Bharat 18, YouTube, Google, Meta and X.
Advocates for Petitioner: Advocates Bharat Arora, Abhishek Singh and Gourav Arora
Case Title: Gaurav Srivastava v India Today and Ors
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