Thin line between defamation, criticism: Delhi high court tells Raghav Chadha on plea against social media posts

Chadha, a former member of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), joined the BJP last month, along with six other AAP lawmakers, including Swati Maliwal and former cricketer Harbhajan Singh. Chadha filed a lawsuit before the high court against the publication of alleged malicious and fabricated social media posts that he said were gravely prejudicial to his reputation and personality rights.

Senior advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Chadha, contended there were posts with profane content, including where the politician is shown as having “sold himself away for money”.

Reserving verdict on the aspect of interim relief to take down such alleged offending content, Justice Subramonium Prasad acknowledged that while an individual has the right to live with dignity, the right to free speech under the Constitution also cannot be taken away.