The Delhi High Court on Tuesday observed that individuals engaged in politics must be “thick-skinned,” while emphasising the need to distinguish between satire and defamation in cases involving critical or offensive content on social media.
Justice Amit Bansal made the remarks while hearing an application filed by BJP leader and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia, who sought the removal of what he termed “defamatory” posts circulating online after his appearance on a television news programme earlier this month.
During the broadcast, Bhatia was reportedly seen wearing a kurta without pyjamas. His counsel clarified before the court that he was wearing shorts, and that the cameraman had mistakenly captured the lower half of his body.
Bhatia argued that social media posts and comments on the incident were an invasion of his privacy, as the image was “taken in the privacy” of his home and circulated without his consent. “Such photos should not be circulated without my consent,” he told the court.
Justice Bansal, however, noted that the interview itself had been given voluntarily. “You have the interview; they did not barge into your home. When you’re in politics, you’ve to be thick-skinned. We’ll have to cull out what’s satirical and what’s defamatory,” he observed, adding that obscene comments must nonetheless be taken down.
The court also stressed caution in granting interim orders against online content. “We have to be very careful. The Supreme Court has said that you should not pass ex parte orders in such cases,” Justice Bansal said, declining immediate relief and posting the matter for further hearing on September 25.
