{"id":64140,"date":"2025-09-19T11:15:59","date_gmt":"2025-09-19T05:45:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/?p=64140"},"modified":"2025-09-19T11:15:59","modified_gmt":"2025-09-19T05:45:59","slug":"sc-guidelines-vs-adani-gag-order-free-speech-and-defamation-cases","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/sc-guidelines-vs-adani-gag-order-free-speech-and-defamation-cases\/","title":{"rendered":"SC Guidelines vs Adani Gag Order: Free Speech and Defamation Cases"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2><b>Adani Gag Order Latest News<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Recently, a lower court issued a sweeping <\/span><b>ex-parte gag order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> restraining several journalists, including Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, from publishing allegedly defamatory content against Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL).\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The order also directed removal of numerous articles and social media posts.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Following this, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued <\/span><b>takedown notices<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, resulting in the removal of 138 YouTube videos and 83 Instagram posts \u2014 some being satire or indirect references to Adani.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>SC Guidelines on Defamation Injunctions<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><b>The Bonnard Standard<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Supreme Court follows the <\/span><b>Bonnard principle<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (1891, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bonnard vs Perryman<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It states that a court can grant an injunction only when it is satisfied that the <\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">defendant may not be able to justify the defamation<\/span><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and not merely when it suspects defamation.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>SC\u2019s Bloomberg Ruling (2024)<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">In 2024, the SC applied this principle while overturning an ex parte injunction ordering Bloomberg to take down an article on Zee Entertainment.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Court stressed that <\/span><b>pre-trial injunctions<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> should be rare, granted only when withholding them would cause \u201cgreater injustice.\u201d<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><b>Supreme Court\u2019s Caution on Ex Parte Orders<\/b>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The SC has held that ex parte injunctions in free speech cases must only be granted in exceptional circumstances, and only when content is \u201cmalicious\u201d or \u201cpalpably false.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Otherwise, they risk stifling public debate and <\/span><b>undermining the public\u2019s right to know<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b style=\"font-size: inherit;\">The September 6 Adani Gag Order<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A Delhi court issued a <\/span><b>blanket gag order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> restraining Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and others from publishing content about Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), while also authorising takedown of existing material within 36 hours.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">This judgement had serious lacunas:<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">No judicial examination of the allegedly defamatory content was carried out.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The order effectively allowed AEL to curate public information about itself.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Journalists were restrained from publishing \u201cunverified or defamatory\u201d reports, amounting to <\/span><b>prior restraint<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> \u2014 unconstitutional under Article 19(1)(a).<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Why Prior Restraint is Problematic<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Restrictions on speech are valid only under Article 19(2), covering grounds like sovereignty, security, public order, morality, and defamation.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But prior restraint carries a <\/span><b>heavy burden of proof<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> and is rarely justified.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Journalists must be heard since <\/span><b>truth and fair comment<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> are lawful defences in defamation cases.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2><b>Delhi Court Quashes Gag Order in Adani Defamation Case<\/b><\/h2>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Later, District Judge of Delhi Court quashed the gag order for four journalists \u2014 Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskant Das, and Ayush Joshi \u2014 stating the order was unsustainable.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court emphasised that the journalists had not been given an opportunity to be heard, violating principles of natural justice.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It noted that declaring articles defamatory and ordering their removal without defence could lead to irreversible consequences.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If later found non-defamatory, restoring removed content would be infeasible.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h3><b>Key Highlights of the Judgement<\/b><\/h3>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The gag order was quashed for being <\/span><b>ex-parte and unsustainable<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An <\/span><b>ex parte order<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> is a court ruling made at the request of one party <\/span><b>without the other being present or notified<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"2\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">It is granted only in urgent situations for temporary relief, such as restraining orders, to prevent harm until a full hearing with both parties ensures fairness and due process.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The court reaffirmed that defendants must be given a <\/span><b>chance to present their defence<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> before sweeping takedown orders.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Judge warned against <\/span><b>irreversible harm<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> from premature content removal.<\/span><\/li>\n<li style=\"font-weight: 400;\" aria-level=\"1\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The ruling narrowed the scope but left other related appeals and the <\/span><b>main defamation trial pending<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><b>Source:<\/b><strong> <a href=\"https:\/\/indianexpress.com\/article\/explained\/prior-restraint-gag-order-in-adani-case-flies-in-face-of-what-sc-has-ruled-10258396\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">IE<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thehindu.com\/news\/national\/unsustainable-delhi-court-quashes-gag-order-against-journalists-in-adani-defamation-case\/article70065724.ece\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">TH<\/a> | <a href=\"https:\/\/www.barandbench.com\/news\/litigation\/delhi-court-sets-aside-order-restraining-journalists-from-publishing-stories-against-adani-enterprises\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\">B&amp;B<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A Delhi court quashed the gag order against journalists in the Adani case, citing SC precedents like the Bonnard standard and principles of free speech.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":18,"featured_media":64154,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[2773,60,22,59],"class_list":{"0":"post-64140","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-upsc-mains-current-affairs","8":"tag-adani-gag-order","9":"tag-mains-articles","10":"tag-upsc-current-affairs","11":"tag-upsc-mains-current-affairs","12":"no-featured-image-padding"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64140","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/18"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=64140"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/64140\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/64154"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=64140"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=64140"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vajiramandravi.com\/current-affairs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=64140"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}