Abhijit Iyer-Mitra told the Delhi High Court that attempts to restrain him from posting online were a “curtailment of my freedom of expression.” The Court is hearing Newslaundry journalists’ Rs 2 crore defamation suit over alleged derogatory posts.
New Delhi: On August 18, the Delhi High Court on Monday asked commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra to give his reply to a new application filed by Newslaundry journalists, including Managing Editor Manisha Pande.
The journalists have requested the Court to stop him from posting more defamatory content while their Rs 2 crore defamation case against him is still going on.
Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav has fixed the next hearing for August 28, 2025.
During the short hearing, Iyer-Mitra’s lawyer strongly opposed the request.
He argued,
“This is a curtailment of my freedom of expression. Anything I post, they are coming to the court.”
Earlier, Iyer-Mitra had agreed to remove certain online posts which were objected to in the defamation case. That assurance was noted by the Court in its interim order.
At that time, the Court had also allowed the plaintiffs to come back with another application if Iyer-Mitra posted any new defamatory content during the pendency of the case.
The defamation suit was filed by Manisha Pande and other journalists from Newslaundry against Iyer-Mitra and X Corp. (formerly Twitter). They have asked for a permanent injunction, a written apology, and damages of Rs 2 crore.
The journalists said that Iyer-Mitra had used offensive terms, referring to women journalists as “prostitutes” and calling Newslaundry a “basti/brothel.”
They argued that such remarks were not just insulting but also part of a sustained campaign to humiliate them, which caused serious mental trauma, harassment, and public embarrassment.
On May 21, 2025, the Court recorded Iyer-Mitra’s undertaking that he would delete some of his posts within five hours. Later, on May 26, 2025, the Court issued summons and also gave liberty to the plaintiffs to return to Court if Iyer-Mitra posted more defamatory remarks.
At that stage, Senior Advocate Percival Billimoria, appearing for Iyer-Mitra, told the Court that his client had deleted the posts. But Advocate Bani Dikshit, who appeared for the plaintiffs, pointed out,
“There is absolutely no remorse. He is commenting on the post and writing poetically.”
On the other hand, Senior Advocate Billimoria pressed for the dismissal of the entire defamation suit, asking that it be rejected with costs. He even asked the Court to order an investigation into Newslaundry. However, the Court refused and made it clear,
“We are only confined to the posts. If you have any other grievance please take it up elsewhere.”
The Court also said that the language used by Iyer-Mitra was unacceptable. The judge observed that such words could not be tolerated in a civilised society and warned that the Court was ready to order police action. It was only after this warning that Iyer-Mitra agreed to withdraw his earlier tweets.
Even after that, the journalists now allege that Iyer-Mitra has once again started posting defamatory comments. They have pointed to fresh posts dated July 3, 2025 and August 4, 2025, where he referred back to the earlier “poetry” posts that were already under challenge before the Court.
According to the plaintiffs, these new tweets have again harmed their reputation and goodwill. They say such comments also encourage other social media users to post abusive remarks against them online.
Because of this, the journalists have filed a new interim application. They have asked the Court to order the immediate takedown of the July and August posts, to stop Iyer-Mitra from making any more defamatory remarks in future, and to direct X Corp. to delete similar content from the platform.
They argued that their professional reputation has been built over many years, but the continuous attacks have caused serious damage, which is why urgent Court intervention is needed.
The latest application by the Newslaundry journalists has been filed through Advocates Uddhav Khanna and Dhruva Vig.
Case Title:
Manisha Pande & Ors Vs Abhijit Iyer Mitra
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