E-Paper
Delhi court issues fresh bailable warrant against Dhruv Rathee in 2018 defamation case over YouTube video
This came after the court was informed that Rathee's house was found to be locked during an attempt to serve an earlier summons notice
Prefer HTon Google
A Delhi court on Saturday issued a bailable warrant against Germany-based YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a 2018 defamation case over his video titled ‘BJP IT Cell Part 2’, uploaded on YouTube in May that year.
During the proceedings at the Saket Court, Rathee’s lawyers reportedly informed the court that he was in London and could not appear in person. The warrant was issued amid proceedings concerning the service of summons in the case.
Also read: Abhijeet Dipke granted conditional bail: 'Ensure no breach of peace for one year'
Judicial Magistrate First Class (South East) Rahul Jain issued the fresh warrant on Saturday after the court was informed that Rathee’s house was found to be locked during an attempt to serve an earlier summons.
The complaint was filed by Vikas Sankrityayan, also known as Vikas Pandey, over a video uploaded by Rathee in May 2018. In the video, Rathee had alleged that members of the BJP IT Cell attempted to bribe the complainant to defame him.
The court has listed the matter for further proceedings on October 31, while a detailed order is awaited.
Also read: 'Breaking Bad Party’: Stalin targets Vijay's TVK after 135 kg meth seized from functionary
The development comes days after Rathee was released following nearly 18 hours of detention by Gurugram Police on October 11, ahead of a protest in Delhi demanding Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar’s resignation.
The video in question was also shared on social media and retweeted on Twitter (now X) by Arvind Kejriwal, who was the chief minister of Delhi at the time.
Pandey subsequently brought defamation proceedings against Rathee and Kejriwal, alleging harm arising from the video and its circulation.
Dhruv Rathee arrived in Delhi recently to take part in the protests against chief election commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar.
The court summons were issued days after Rathee was detained from his residence in Gurugram on October 10, the day CJP had announced a protest in Delhi. He was later released in the early hours of Sunday, October 11, around 3 AM.
Following his release, Rathee alleged in a video statement that police had “kidnapped” him from his residence and claimed that personnel had manhandled him and his family members.
