By Chanshimla Varah
Copyright newsbytesapp
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia has approached the Delhi High Court against defamatory social media posts. The posts were in reference to his recent appearance on a TV news show, which appears to show him without pants. Justice Amit Bansal heard the matter on Tuesday and will pass orders on Thursday after reviewing the material presented. Appearing for Bhatia, advocate Raghav Awasthi clarified that he was wearing shorts during the show. He said the cameraman had inadvertently captured his lower body, leading to misunderstandings. Awasthi argued that social media posts from this incident breach Bhatia’s privacy and should be removed. Bhatia had appeared on a News 18 debate earlier this month. During the show’s introduction by journalist Amish Devgan, Bhatia was seen wearing a kurta, allegedly without pants or pajamas. Bhatia’s defamation suit seeks the removal of posts from various platforms. These include the Samajwadi Party media cell, the news portal Newslaundry, politicians Saurabh Bharadwaj and Ragini Nayak, and journalist Abhisar Sharma. He also appeared before the court in person and submitted that derogatory terms like nanga shouldn’t be used against him on social media. I stand before you because reputation is earned over decades, he said. The court has said it will remove defamatory content referring to Bhatia’s private parts but will not restrict satirical or sarcastic content. Justice Bansal observed that being in politics requires a thick skin. Justice Amit Bansal stated that he will pass an order on Bhatia’s appeal for interim relief on Thursday, after reviewing the impugned URLs of the social media posts.
