Delhi High Court issues notice to Zee News on contempt petition filed by Gupta brothers

The Delhi High Court today issued notice in a contempt petition filed against Zee News for non-compliance with the Court's previous order in a defamation suit (Ajay Kumar Gupta v. Zee Media Corporation Ltd & Ors)..The August 2 order that was said to be violated was passed in a ₹2.5 crore suit filed by businessman Ajay Kumar Gupta and his brothers for a broadcast by Zee News that allegedly defamed them..It is the case of the petitioners that on the previous hearing in the suit, the Court had directed Zee News,"In the interest of justice, let the plaintiff give their comments to the defendants on the publications which are presently available on social media. The defendants will publish a precise of the said comments of the plaintiff on the social medial platforms within five days of the receipt of the comments of the plaintiff.".Today, the petitioners informed the Court that they had sent their comments on August 10. However, Zee disobeyed the order of the Court and simply added vague and imprecise comments to the existing defamatory posts..Single-judge Justice Jayant Nath proceeded to issue notice in the contempt plea and listed the matter for hearing on October 5, 2021.The petitioners were represented by Senior Advocate Siddharth Bhatnagar, who was instructed by a team from Karanjawala & Co comprising Partner Debmalya Banerjee, Principal Associate Kartik Bhatnagar and Associate Ujjwal Singh..Earlier this month, a defamation suit was moved in relation to a broadcast referring to the Gupta family. Zee had broadcast an episode about the plaintiff and his brothers titled “DNA: What is the connection of South Africa riots to India Gupta family?” hosted by anchor Sudhir Chaudhary. Another similar article was published in DNA two days later.On being aggrieved by the publications and broadcasts by Zee, Gupta family had approached High Court through a defamation suit.The plaintiffs stated that the episode was false, baseless, and highly defamatory and that the defendants had attempted to create a false impression that the plaintiff and his family members are responsible for the ongoing riots, alleged attacks and looting of the people in the Republic of South Africa, without any basis, veracity or evidence..Delhi High Court directs Zee News to publish comments by Ajay Kumar Gupta in defamation suit