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The Delhi High Court on Friday listed for hearing in July, an application filed by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, challenging the April 4 order of a single-judge Bench, which ordered him to take down an allegedly defamatory 18-second video clip showing an altercation between Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shazia Ilmi and an India Today journalist.
The Bench of Justice Navin Chawla and Justice Renu Bhatnagar showed its disinclination towards hearing the matter today and said it would take up the same in July, when the High Court opens after summer vacations.
The video clip was reportedly shot after Ilmi withdrew from a debate with India Today.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Manmeet Singh Arora observed on April 4 that the video clip violated Ilmi’s right to privacy and could not remain online. While confirming its interim order passed in August 2024, Justice Arora also imposed cost of Rs 25,000 on Ilmi for suppressing certain tweets.
Sardesai challenged the single-judge order on the grounds that Ilmi had suppressed facts.
Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Sardesai, today contended that the single-judge Bench had relied on a truncated video while passing the interim order.
The Bench refused to hear the case today. It, however, permitted Sardesai to place relevant videos on record through a pen drive.
On July 26, 2024, Ilmi was invited to speak during a debate hosted by Sardesai on India Today. She attended the debate remotely, from her home.
During the show, Sardesai and Ilmi clashed after she tried to intervene when Major General (Retired) Yash Mor was pointing out the shortcomings in the Agnipath scheme. As Ilmi intervened, Sardesai said that the former General was putting forth hard facts. A heated argument ensued between Sardesai and Ilmi for several minutes, after which Ilmi left the show.
On the night of July 26, 2024, Ilmi posted a tweet on her X account accusing Sardesai of bringing down her fader (volume) on the show.
“Remember I have been on both the sides and know how to handle bullies like you. BTW it doesn’t behove political propagandists masquerading as journalists to sermonise,” she posted.
On the morning of July 27, 2024, Sardesai shared a video on his X account alleging that Ilmi had abused the India Today video journalist present at her home. Sardesai claimed that after Ilmi decided to withdraw from the debate, she threw a mic at the Journalist and threw him out of her house.
Ilmi replied that it was her privacy that was violated as the India Today journalist continued to shoot the video even after she had withdrawn from the show. She then filed a defamation suit before the High Court.
In August 2024, the single-judge Bench passed an interim order directing Sardesai to take down the video uploaded by him on his personal account. This direction was confirmed on April 4, 2025.
On April 9, the High Court issued contempt of court notices to X users who had uploaded this clip in violation of court orders. It further directed X Corp to share the basic subscriber information (BSI) details of such persons.
X Corp moved the High Court seeking a modification of this direction to disclose BSI details. The single-judge Bench rejected this plea earlier this month and directed the X Corp to provide the BSI details within 36 hours.
Justice Arora further took exception to the continued violation of its April 4 takedown order by X users. He observed that people were using the verdict and the video together, which was a mockery of the judgment.
The High Court, however, agreed to the request made by X Corp to keep open the question of how far the privacy of X users whose BSI has been sought should be preserved.
The matter is scheduled for hearing on August 29.
This article first appeared on India Legal
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