Delhi HC Slaps ₹25,000 Cost On Shazia Ilmi For Suppressing Tweets In Defamation Suit Against Rajdeep Sardesai
Advocate Sanjeev Sirohi
New Delhi, April 4: The Delhi High Court has imposed a cost of ₹25,000 on BJP leader Shazia Ilmi for suppressing key tweets in her defamation case against senior journalist Rajdeep Sardesai. Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed the order while partly allowing Ilmi’s application for interim relief in the ongoing civil suit.
The Court noted that Ilmi failed to disclose two of her own tweets that were part of the same conversation thread she cited to claim defamation. The tweets related to a video shared by Sardesai on his personal X (formerly Twitter) handle, which showed her after she had exited a debate on India Today.
The High Court had earlier directed Sardesai and several others, including social media platforms, to take down the video till the application was decided. While it confirmed that order for part of the video — particularly 18 seconds recorded without Ilmi’s consent after she walked off the debate — the Court said Ilmi’s conduct in hiding relevant tweets amounted to suppression of facts.
“The Plaintiff ought to have disclosed the tweets published by her on July 26 and 27, 2024,” the Court said, observing that any party alleging defamation on social media must present the full context, including their own statements.
Justice Arora held that although Ilmi’s privacy was violated for the portion of the video recorded after she left the frame, the rest of the footage — aired during the live broadcast — did not support her claims. The Court also ruled that the video was not doctored, as claimed by Ilmi, and the IT Local Commissioner found no such evidence.
Further, while some comments made by Sardesai in the quote tweet like “chuck the mike” and “throw him out of your house” were ordered to be removed for not being substantially true, others such as “abuse our video journalist” were allowed to remain, being backed by factual support.
In a stern observation, the Court said, “A Plaintiff must approach the Court with clean hands,” and ordered Ilmi to pay ₹25,000 to the Delhi High Court Bar Clerks’ Association for withholding material facts. She has been directed to deposit the amount within three weeks and file a compliance affidavit within two weeks thereafter.
The application under Order XXXIX Rules 1 and 2 of the Civil Procedure Code now stands disposed of. The Court clarified that the findings are prima facie and will not affect the final decision in the main suit.
