Delhi HC refuses immediate relief to Raghav Chadha over critical posts
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New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday declined to immediately restrain social media posts criticising former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Raghav Chadha after his recent switch to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), observing that the content appeared to be criticism of a political decision rather than a violation of personality rights.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, however, reserved Chadha’s plea for orders on the issue of interim relief.
Chadha had approached the court seeking protection of his “personality rights” and objecting to social media posts alleging that he had “sold himself for money” after joining the BJP last month. He had resigned from the AAP in April along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs before joining the ruling party.
During the hearing, the court orally remarked that the case, prima facie, did not appear to involve personality rights. Addressing Chadha’s counsel, senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, Justice Prasad observed, “Here it is just criticism… on decisions taken by you in the political arena… prima facie, they are only criticism of political decision… it is an attack or critique.”
The court also indicated that Chadha’s objections may fall within the ambit of defamation rather than personality rights protection.
Seeking interim relief, Nayar argued that the allegations went beyond criticism. “The story which has gone is that I have traded for money. That can’t be criticism,” he submitted.
The High Court, however, refrained from immediately ordering the removal of the posts or restraining the content, noting that “there is a difference between commercialisation of personality rights and criticism”.
Chadha has sought action against various entities allegedly using his likeness and has also requested the takedown of AI-generated and deepfake content purportedly circulated against him.
The Delhi High Court has recently witnessed a rise in cases filed by celebrities, social media influencers, sports personalities and politicians — including Shashi Tharoor — seeking protection of their personality rights.
