New Delhi:
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday warned political commentator Abhijeet Iyer-Mitra that if he failed to take the posts of defamation allegedly for targeting Newjalundry Executive Editor Manisha Pandey and eight other women journalists, he would order an FIR against him. The court gave him five hours to follow.
The posts held on X (East Twitter) between February and May 2025 were described by the court as “not allowed in any civilized society”. The court said it was keen to pass an interim order, but after assuring Mr. Iyer-Mitra’s lawyer, the proceedings stopped the proceedings that the tweet would be removed within the specified time.
A single-judge bench visited the hearing of a civil defamation suit filed by journalists. The complainants have alleged that Mr. Iyer-Mitra referred to him as “prostitutes” and described the newslundry as “brothels”. The posts are at the center of a legal action, which is demanding written apology and the loss is Rs 2 crore.
“Such languages, whatever background, can such a language against women be permissible in society?” The court commented during the proceedings.
The court said, “We might direct the registration of a criminal cedar against the defendant, as a constitutional court, and take him into custody.”
The court expressed dissatisfaction that despite the earlier notice and nature of the material, the aggressive material was not removed until the hearing time.
Submission by Mr. Iyer-Mitra came to the court from Advocate Jai Anant Dehdarai, who said that his client had points to lift. At the same time, Mr. Dehdarai admitted that “the choice of words could be avoided”. Mr. Dehdarai told the court that the defendant would take the aggressive positions down within five hours.
