Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav of the Delhi High Court on Wednesday recused himself from hearing the defamation case filed by senior advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national spokesperson Nalin Satyakam Kohli against DB Corp Limited, the publisher of the Hindi daily Dainik Bhaskar.
The defamation suit, titled Mr Nalin Satyakam Kohli vs D B Corp Limited & Ors., pertains to a sting operation and accompanying report published by Dainik Bhaskar that allegedly linked Kohli to companies involved in the creation and dissemination of fake news targeting political figures.
At the outset of the hearing, Justice Kaurav observed,
“Mr. Kohli in person is the plaintiff? It has to go to some other bench. Mr [Aman] Lekhi, Mr Kohli’s matter … how can I hear it.”
Accordingly, the Court directed that the matter be listed before another bench on Thursday.
In his plea, Kohli has sought an injunction against the allegedly defamatory content, damages, and the removal of the material from all platforms. The sting operation in question involved undercover journalists posing as clients to expose media entities allegedly offering services to spread fake narratives against political personalities.
Following the publication of the report, Kohli publicly denied all allegations on April 11 and stated his intention to pursue legal action against the media outlet.
