Defamation case: Dainik Bhaskar to delete photo, name of BJP’s Nalin Kohli from ‘sting operation’ video-OxBig News Network

Dainik Bhaskar told the Delhi High Court on Thursday (April 17) that it will delete the photo and name references of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson and senior advocate Nalin Kohli from a ‘sting operation’ video conducted by DB Corp Limited. According to a Live Law report, the submission on this matter was made before Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora, who was hearing Nalin Kohli’s defamation case against Dainik Bhaskar, its journalists, X Corp. (formerly known as Twitter), and several other individuals.

Know more about ‘defamation case’ between ‘Nalin Satyakam Kohli v. DB Corp Limited & Ors’

Dainik Bhaskar published a video and an article related to an alleged ‘sting operation’ conducted by its field reporters, containing a false claim linking Nalin Kohli to the distribution of fake news targeting political figures. During the hearing in the Delhi High Court today, Senior Advocate Aman Lekhi appeared for Nalin Kohli. The counsel representing ‘Dainik Bhaskar’ and its two journalists also appeared before the court on Thursday.

Both the counsels (Nalin Kohli and Dainik Bhaskar) told the Delhi High Court that they arrived at an ‘out-of-court agreement’ with respect to the taking down or removal of the allegedly defamatory content. As quoted by Live Law, Lekhi told the court that Dainik Bhaskar has agreed to publish a corrigendum in both English and Hindi regarding the impugned news article on their website as well as their X handle.

The counsel for Dainik Bhaskar said that the newspaper undertakes to remove Nalin Kohli’s photo, which appears in the video in question, and that reference to his name in the said video will be ‘beeped’ out. It was also stated that Kohli’s name in the article, authored by the two reporters of Dainik Bhaskar, will also be deleted.

Corrigendum to be posted on Dainik Bhaskar’s website ‘top news’ section 

Aman Lekhi said that since the news article as well as the video remained in the public domain for almost seven days, Dainik Bhaskar may also take necessary steps to ensure that the corrigendum is put on display for an equivalent period on its website, with it being shown in the ‘priority’ section. On this point, Dainik Bhaskar’s counsel said, on instructions, that the corrigendum will be posted on the website’s top news section and will remain there for seven days. Dainik Bhaskar’s counsel submitted that another defendant, who left the job on April 15 (Tuesday), had already removed the post and video from his X handle. The court further injuncted the said defendant from reposting the impugned post or video again in any manner and disposed of the suit qua him.

The suit sought Rs 2 crore as damages from the defendants and removal of the allegedly defamatory content and to prevent its further publication. In the interim, Kohli has sought the takedown of the content. Kohli was aggrieved by a post made by Dainik Bhaskar containing a video in relation to the ‘sting operation’ along with a link to a full report available on its website. 

The suit referred to one Vijay Sharma, who has alleged that he had dealings with Kohli in creating and distributing fake media campaigns against prominent political figures of Congress, including Rahul Gandhi, the late Dr Manmohan Singh and Sonia Gandhi. The suit stated that “defamatory statements” were made by Sharma to the Dainik Bhaskar team, and the broadcast of the same was done without any verification on the Dainik Bhaskar website as well as on X.