Don’t Share ‘Defamatory’ Content Against Indiabulls: Delhi High Court To Subramanian Swamy
This, the court said, was resulting in the company’s shares declining drastically.
The Delhi High Court on Friday restrained Bharatiya Janata Party leader Subramanian Swamy and social media giants Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp from publishing or disseminating any “false, offending or defamatory” allegations against Indiabulls Housing Finance Ltd.
Justice Mukta Gupta, in an interim order, also directed a web portal and the social media platforms to remove or take down or expunge the “offending false messages” from their platforms.
The court issued summons to web portal PGurus, its chief executive officers and cartoonists, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and Rajya Sabha MP Swamy, and sought their responses on a suit by Indiabulls Housing Finance.
The suit claimed that the defendants are publishing articles/creating cartoons which are being shared on various platforms by others, thereby circulating incorrect, false, motivated information with respect to the plaintiff company.
This, it said, was resulting in the company's shares declining drastically.
It referred to the alleged defamatory statements purportedly made by Swamy and disseminated by PGurus through social media.
The court said the company has made out a prima facie case in its favour and in case no ad-interim injunction is granted, it would suffer an irreparable loss.
The court restrained the defendants from "publishing or disseminating/uploading in any manner on their website, messenger application, social media including Facebook, Twitter and WhatsApp or any other platform operated by them in respect of the allegations which are false, offending or defamatory" till the next date of hearing on Dec. 17.