Delhi Court Orders NDTV Journalist Gargi Rawat to Pay Rs 10,000 for Liking Defamatory Tweet Against Abhijit Iyer-Mitra

New Delhi: In a significant defamation ruling, a Delhi court directed NDTV journalist Gargi Rawat to pay Rs 10,000 in damages to Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for liking a tweet that falsely accused him of rape. The order was issued on September 8 by District Judge Satyabrata Panda of the Patiala House Courts, in response to a defamation suit filed by Iyer-Mitra, according to Bar and Bench.

The court noted that Rawat’s act of liking the tweet amounted to republication, making her liable under defamation laws. Iyer-Mitra had initially sought Rs 20 lakh in damages, but the court reduced the amount to Rs 10,000, considering mitigating factors, including Iyer-Mitra’s history of controversial online remarks.

The dispute originated from a December 2019 tweet by Mumbai-based lawyer Dushyant Arora, who commented on journalist Rana Ayyub’s critique of Iyer-Mitra’s article in The Print. Arora’s tweet stated, “The man has been accused of rape, he routinely engages in hate speech,” which Rawat liked, thereby making it visible to her followers.

Iyer-Mitra argued that Rawat’s ‘like’ constituted republication, spreading the defamatory content further. The court concurred, stating, “There is no manner of doubt that the act of the defendant no 2 in ‘liking’ the original defamatory tweet amounted to republication,” as reported by Bar and Bench.

Rawat’s defense—that she was being selectively targeted—was dismissed by the court. While the allegations were deemed “grave” and “false,” Judge Panda noted that the damages should remain modest: “Although the online republication and circulation by the defendant no 2 was of a grave false allegation, taking into account the mitigating factors, I consider it reasonable to grant the plaintiff damages on the lower side.”

Additionally, Rawat has been instructed to delete the tweet if it still exists on her profile. Failure to pay the Rs 10,000 within two weeks will incur a 6% per annum interest until the amount is recovered.