New Delhi, Oct 14: A Delhi court has ordered fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a 2018 defamation complaint, taking note of the complainant’s submission that repeated efforts to serve him had not succeeded since the proceedings began.

Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket court passed the order on October 12 while allowing an application filed by complainant Vikas Sankrityayan, also known as Vikas Pandey, seeking an early hearing and permission to serve the summons personally.

The complainant’s counsel, advocate Samaksh Sharma, told the court that the summons had remained unserved for several years as Rathee primarily lives abroad. The court was, however, informed that Rathee is presently in India and residing at an address in Gurugram, Haryana.

The magistrate noted that Rathee had first been summoned on July 23, 2019, and that the complainant had continued to pursue service of the summons. The court accordingly directed that fresh summons be issued to Rathee at the address furnished before it.

The order also allows Pandey to accompany the process server for the execution of the summons. The court directed the complainant to deposit the process fee within two days and fixed October 17, 2026, for the next hearing.

The complaint relates to a video published by Rathee in May 2018, in which he allegedly claimed that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Information Technology cell had tried to bribe Pandey to defame him.

The video was posted on Rathee’s social media handle and later retweeted by Arvind Kejriwal, who was serving as Delhi Chief Minister at the time.

Pandey subsequently initiated defamation proceedings against both Rathee and Kejriwal over the video and its circulation. (ANI)