Delhi HC Stays Rs. 40 Lakh Defamation Damages Against Hindustan Times, Journalist Neelesh Misra
The Delhi High Court has recently stayed a trial court order that had directed Hindustan Times and its former journalist Neelesh Misra to jointly pay Rs 40 lakh in damages to businessman Arun Kumar Gupta, founder of Darts IT Network, in a defamation suit filed by him.
In its suit, Gupta referred to a 2007 news report authored by Misra and published by Hindustan Times, which, while not naming him, wrongly suggested that he had been sacked from his former company for alleged financial irregularities.
In June, the Delhi court ordered Hindustan Times to bear three-fourths of the compensation amount (Rs. 30 lakh), while Misra was directed to pay the remaining one-fourth (Rs. 10 lakh). In addition to monetary damages, the court directed the publication to issue an apology within 60 days and permanently restrained it from making any defamatory statements about Gupta.
Challenging this order, Hindustan Times and Misra approached the Delhi High Court, arguing that the the only purpose of publishing the article in question was to make the public aware of the misuse of electronic communications, such as email, and that there was never any intention to harm the reputation of, or defame, respondent no. 1 in any manner whatsoever.
The counsel appearing for the appellants submitted that the trial court had reached its finding erroneously, despite the fact that the article was cautiously worded, using terms such as ‘alleged’ and ‘purportedly’ to ensure balanced reporting and to reflect the non-conclusive nature of the allegations.
The High Court, after hearing the submissions, ordered:
"Considering the submissions made before this Court, it is directed that the operation of the judgment and decree dated 06th June, 2025, passed by the District Judge, South East District, Saket Courts, Delhi in C.S. DJ No. 6574/2016, shall remain stayed, till the next date of hearing. Let an electronic and bookmarked copy of the Trial Court Record be requisitioned and attached with the present file."
Court also issued notice to Arun Kumar Gupta and directed him to file his reply within four weeks, noting in its order: ‘Let reply be filed within a period of four weeks.’
The trial court had earlier held Hindustan Times and Misra liable for defamation, noting that the news article was published without any documentary basis and had harmed the reputation of Gupta.
Gupta had joined a company named Integrix as a Director in 2000 and resigned in 2005 to start his own venture. In 2006, Integrix initiated two civil suits against him, one over a defamatory email and another concerning the alleged hacking of its website. However, Gupta contended that he had voluntarily resigned from Integrix, and there was no allegation or evidence of financial irregularities in the suits filed by the company.
In response to the 2007 article, he had filed a defamation suit not only against the newspaper and journalist but also against Integrix, its directors, and its legal counsel. He later settled with all except Hindustan Times and Misra
While both the journalist and the publication were found guilty, the court emphasised that greater responsibility lies with a media institution. “An institution is always bigger than an individual person... A big institution like defendant no. 1 is supposed to have a check upon the reports/news articles prepared by an individual reporter,” the court held, adding that “higher the power, higher the responsibility.”
The court acknowledged that Misra might have been “careless” in his reporting, but emphasised that Hindustan Times had an institutional duty to verify and vet content before publication.
Gupta, who had sought Rs. 1 crore in damages, was awarded Rs. 40 lakh by the court after a detailed analysis of the factual matrix and the legal standards governing defamation.
Case Title: HT Media Limited & Anr. v. Arun Kumar Gupta & Ors.
Order Date: 14 August 2025
Bench: Justice Mini Pushkarna