Dhruv Rathee Served Fresh Summons In 2018 Criminal Defamation Case Over BJP IT Cell Video

A Delhi court has issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a criminal defamation case filed in 2018 by Vikas Pandey, founder of the social media page ‘I Support Narendra Modi’, over Rathee’s video titled BJP IT Cell Part 2. The summons has been physically served at Rathee’s residence in Gurugram, with the matter scheduled to be heard next on October 17.

Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket District Court passed the order on October 12. Advocate Samaksh Sharma, appearing for Pandey, told the court that Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria but was currently in India to participate in protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) over alleged electoral irregularities. Sharma sought fresh summons to facilitate prompt service.

The development comes amid controversy over Rathee’s detention at his Gurugram residence on October 10, ahead of a CJP protest at Jantar Mantar in Delhi.

Why Dhruv Rathee Was Detained Ahead Of CJP Protest

Around 50 police personnel arrived at Rathee’s residence in Sector 56, Gurugram, and detained him on October 10. Delhi Police described the action as preventive, citing the absence of permission for the planned demonstration in the national capital.

The CJP protest was called over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and sought the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Rathee had participated in a CJP protest in Bengaluru two days before his detention.

In an Instagram video posted on Wednesday, Rathee alleged that plainclothes police personnel in unmarked cars followed him after he left his Gurugram home. He claimed they were tracking his movements and had threatened to detain him again if he approached the protest site.

The allegations came ahead of another planned demonstration against Kumar at Jantar Mantar on October 16. Delhi Police had not responded to Rathee’s allegations at the time of writing.

What Is The BJP IT Cell Defamation Case?

The criminal defamation case dates back to 2018 and concerns Rathee’s video BJP IT Cell Part 2. Pandey alleged that the video portrayed him as a member of the BJP’s IT cell and claimed he had offered Rs 50 lakh through a middleman to Mahavir Prasad in exchange for withdrawing allegations that the organisation spread fake news.

Pandey also filed a complaint against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who was Delhi chief minister at the time, for sharing Rathee’s video on X, then known as Twitter.

The Delhi High Court declined to quash the summons issued to Kejriwal. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma observed that a chief minister’s substantial social media following meant that a retweet could have a wider reach and be perceived as public endorsement or acknowledgement.

Kejriwal challenged the High Court’s order in the Supreme Court. On February 26, 2024, a bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna and Dipankar Datta stayed the trial court proceedings against him.

During the hearing, Kejriwal’s lawyer told the Supreme Court, “I can say this much that I made a mistake by re-tweeting.”

While proceedings against Kejriwal were stayed, the case against Rathee continued. The fresh summons now require Rathee to respond in the pending criminal defamation proceedings, with the next hearing scheduled for October 17.

(With Agency Inputs)