Defamation Case / Delhi Court Issues Bailable Warrant against Dhruv Rathee

New Delhi, Oct 17: In a setback for YouTuber Dhruv Rathee, a Delhi court has ordered a bailable warrant against him after repeated attempts to serve summons in a long‑pending defamation case failed, with officials reporting his residence locked during delivery.

A Delhi court has issued a bailable warrant against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in connection with an eight‑year‑old criminal defamation case filed by Vikas Pandey.

The order was passed on Saturday after the court was informed that a fresh summons could not be served as Rathee’s residence was found locked.

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The Saket Courts noted that despite earlier directions, service of summons on Rathee remained incomplete. The matter has now been listed for further hearing on October 31.

Earlier this month, the court had permitted fresh summons to be served through dasti service, allowing the complainant to accompany the process server to facilitate delivery. However, officials reported that the notice could not be executed, leading to the issuance of the warrant.

The case stems from a video titled “BJP IT Cell Part 2”, which Pandey alleges defamed him. The video was retweeted in 2018 by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who later admitted before the Supreme Court that he had erred in sharing it. Pandey, founder of the social media page “I Support Narendra Modi”, claimed the retweet damaged his reputation.

Proceedings against Rathee have faced repeated delays since 2019 due to difficulties in serving summons, with the complainant asserting that Rathee’s continued residence abroad has slowed the case. Rathee ordinarily lives in Austria.

The matter also reached the Supreme Court in connection with Kejriwal’s challenge to the criminal defamation proceedings arising from his retweet. In February 2024, Kejriwal told the apex court, “I had made a mistake by sharing the video.” A Bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna, who later became Chief Justice of India and has since retired, and Dipankar Datta stayed the trial court proceedings against Kejriwal while hearing his plea.

The Delhi High Court had earlier upheld the summoning order, observing that retweeting allegedly defamatory content could attract prosecution under Section 499 of the IPC.

(IANS)