The Delhi High Court on Wednesday, 1 July directed the removal of five prima facie defamatory online posts targeting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha, in a ruling his legal team described as a significant check against coordinated, allegedly paid social media campaigns designed to damage public reputations.

What the Court Ordered

A single-judge Bench of Justice Subramonium Prasad ordered the takedown of the five posts after finding them prima facie defamatory. The court, however, declined to grant any blanket interim direction for the removal of all content flagged by Chadha, and also refused to extend wider protection of his personality and publicity rights.

'There is no personality right involved. However, I have ordered a takedown of only five documents. Rest is not defamatory prima facie,' Justice Prasad observed during the proceedings.

What Chadha's Lawyers Said

Advocates Satatya Anand and Nikhil Aradhe, who appeared on Chadha's behalf, welcomed the ruling in a post-hearing statement. 'The order passed today by the Hon'ble Single Judge of the Delhi High Court is a welcome step as it directed takedown of defamatory content against Mr Chadha, thereby protecting individuals from organised defamatory content on social media,' they said.

The lawyers further argued that the ruling 'reinforces the fact that freedom of speech cannot be used to run paid orchestrated campaigns of defamation and character assassination.'

Coordinated Campaign Alleged Before Court

According to Chadha's counsel, evidence placed before the court indicated that a coordinated and allegedly paid social media campaign was being run through multiple professional Influencer Marketing Agencies to damage the MP's public image. The statement said defamatory posts were 'disseminated across numerous social media handles within minutes, reflecting a concerted and organised effort to amplify false narratives and cause irreparable reputational harm.'

Chadha's legal team described the order as 'an important step towards ensuring quick action against organised online defamation and protecting the dignity of public discourse.'

Background: What Chadha Had Sought

Chadha had approached the Delhi High Court seeking protection of his personality and publicity rights against the alleged unauthorised use and misuse of his name, image, likeness, and identity across online and digital platforms. His petition specifically flagged AI-generated, deepfake, and morphed content portraying him as having 'sold himself for money' following his switch from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the BJP.

The court, however, observed that the content flagged by Chadha appeared prima facie to be criticism of a political decision rather than a violation of personality rights, while noting that the line between criticism and defamation was 'quite thin.' The case highlights a growing legal frontier around the misuse of digital identity and coordinated influence operations targeting public figures in India.