New Delhi, July 24: A Delhi court has issued summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee and two others in a civil defamation case filed by Suresh Nakhua, the spokesperson for the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) Mumbai unit. Nakhua has alleged that Rathee referred to him as part of “violent and abusive trolls” in a video.
Nakhua's suit, filed against Rathee, Google LLC, and X Corp (formerly known as Twitter), claims that on July 7, Rathee uploaded a video titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav | Dhruv Rathee,” where he referred to Nakhua as part of violent and abusive trolls for “no rhyme or reason”, damaging his reputation.
“Through this cunningly crafted video, a deliberate campaign to besmirch the Plaintiff’s integrity and reputation is apparent, as baseless accusations and malicious connections are artfully insinuated,” Nakhua stated in his suit. He added that Rathee's defamatory statements have caused irreparable harm to his personal and professional life.
Nakhua further accused Rathee of habitual defamation, issuing online threats, and attempting to harm fellow YouTubers' careers by leveraging his audience.
In his suit, Nakhua seeks a permanent injunction against Rathee, restraining him from posting, tweeting, publishing, creating, or sharing any derogatory and harmful material about him or the BJP on any platform.
Additionally, he has requested a decree of damages amounting to ₹20,00,000 for the defamation caused to him. Nakhua also seeks a decree of permanent injunction to prevent Rathee from contacting him or his colleagues in any manner.
