The Delhi High Court on Tuesday intervened in a high-profile defamation case, ordering the immediate removal of online content that allegedly linked Himayani Puri, daughter of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Justice Mini Pushkarna, presiding over the matter, directed all defendants to take down the impugned reports, social media posts, and videos within 24 hours. The court specified that for content uploaded from Indian IP addresses, a full removal is required. For material uploaded outside India, the court ordered social media intermediaries to ensure such content is blocked from being accessed within the Indian domain.
In a significant protection of individual reputation against “scurrilous attacks,” the Delhi High Court has granted an interim injunction in favor of Himayani Puri. The court has mandated that 14 named defendants and several “John Doe” parties remove defamatory URLs and links within a 24-hour window. Should they fail to comply, social media giants including Google and Meta have been directed to step in and block access to the content within India.
The legal action follows what Himayani Puri’s legal team described as a coordinated campaign that began on February 22, 2026. According to the suit, false and misleading articles were amplified across platforms such as X (formerly Twitter), YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn.
Ms. Puri, a resident of New York, alleged that these claims were strategically propagated using “sensationalist and manipulative formats,” including doctored thumbnails and edited videos, specifically designed to incite public outrage. Her counsel, led by Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani, argued that she was targeted solely due to her status as the daughter of a Union Cabinet Minister.
During the proceedings, the plaintiff’s counsel pushed for a global takedown of the defamatory material. However, this was met with resistance from the legal representatives of Google and Meta. Advocate Arvind Datar, representing Meta, pointed out that the jurisdictional authority of Indian courts to order global content removal is currently a matter of deliberation before a division bench of the High Court.
While the court declined the request for a global injunction at this stage, it asserted its authority over the Indian domain.
In a counter-argument, counsel for the YouTube channel ‘Jana Gana Mana 24×7’ opposed the suit. They maintained that their content was an exercise of journalistic freedom and “fair journalism,” claiming they were merely raising questions based on existing tweets from other defendants.
The Court’s Directive
The court’s order is clear on the technical execution of the takedown:
- Indian IP Addresses: Content uploaded from within India must be removed entirely.
- Foreign IP Addresses: Content uploaded from outside India must be disabled for viewing within the Indian jurisdiction.
- Intermediary Responsibility: Defendants 15 to 18 (intermediaries) are tasked with blocking access if the primary uploaders do not comply within the 24-hour deadline.
The court has issued summons to all defendants and has scheduled the next hearing for August 7, 2026.
