The Delhi High Court has issued a notice to journalist Sudhir Chaudhary and public broadcaster Doordarshan News in response to a defamation case filed by Vikram Sherawat, a civil services aspirant who attended youth protests at Jantar Mantar in July.
According to Bar and Bench, the summons stem from a plea filed by Sherawat claiming that Chaudhary accused him of calling for the destruction of Parliament and creating a 'Nepal-like situation' in India during a July 27 broadcast, portraying him as an 'anti-national'.
Vikram Sherawat, who was part of the protests against alleged mismanagement of several competitive examinations that began on June 6, had been volunteering with the Cockroach Janta Party political campaign. On July 20, thousands joined the protest, which came two days after the police forcibly took activist Sonam Wangchuk to hospital.
The protesters’ march to Parliament was met with a crackdown by police. Dozens were injured as the police used lathis and fired tear gas shells and pellet guns at the demonstrators. The police action turbocharged the agitation, which spread to other parts of the country.
In his petition, Sherawat has sought Rs 5 crore in damages from Chaudhary, his production company Essprit Productions and Doordarshan News. He alleges that the statement was made by an unidentified person at a different event but was wrongly attributed to him during the July 20 demonstration.
Sherawat further accuses Chaudhary of not verifying any information before the broadcast and broadcasting a low-quality version of the footage so that the two men featured in it could not be distinguished. The court has issued notice to stop the national broadcaster from publishing and republishing the allegations against Sherawat, with the plea set to be considered on September 22.
Source:
Scroll.in
