Delhi court issues fresh bailable warrant against Dhruv Rathee

New Delhi: A Delhi court has issued another bailable warrant against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a criminal defamation case dating back eight years, after repeated attempts to serve court notices failed, further delaying proceedings over a controversial video targeting the BJP's IT Cell.

The Saket court directed that the fresh warrant be served at Rathee's address in Gurugram. An earlier warrant issued on October 17 could not be executed because it was sent to an incorrect address in Austria, where the YouTuber ordinarily resides. Previous summons had also remained unserved after officials reportedly found his Gurugram residence locked.

The case was filed by Vikas Pandey, founder of the social media page 'I Support Narendra Modi', against Rathee's video titled 'BJP IT Cell Part 2'. Pandey alleges that the video damaged his reputation. The proceedings have faced repeated setbacks since 2019, with difficulties in locating and serving Rathee contributing to the prolonged delay. The next hearing is scheduled for November 23.

The controversy also involved Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who retweeted the video in 2018. In February 2024, Kejriwal acknowledged before the Supreme Court that sharing the video had been a mistake.

The apex court subsequently stayed the trial proceedings against Kejriwal while considering his challenge to the criminal defamation case. The Delhi High Court had earlier refused to quash the summons, observing that sharing allegedly defamatory material through a retweet could attract prosecution under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code.

The fresh warrant marks another attempt to bring Rathee before the court in the long-pending case.