Himani Puri, daughter of Union Minister Hardeep Puri, has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court seeking Rs 10 crore damages and removal of online posts linking her to Jeffrey Epstein, also requesting platforms remove similar defamatory content worldwide.
NEW DELHI: Himayani Puri, daughter of Union minister Hardeep Puri, has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court seeking removal of online news stories, posts, videos and other content that link her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Puri is claiming Rs 10 crore in damages, seeking a permanent injunction against multiple social media platforms and unidentified online users (John Doe parties), and asking for removal of the allegedly defamatory material published worldwide.
She has also asked that intermediaries X, Google, Meta and LinkedIn be directed to take down any similar defamatory statements or imputations if she notifies them.
The case is expected to be listed for hearing on Tuesday.
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According to the complaint, from February 22, 2026, various social media accounts began circulating allegations that Puri had direct or indirect business, financial, personal or other associations with Jeffrey Epstein and/or his criminal activities. It was further claimed that Real Partners LLC, Puri’s former employer, had received funding or financial benefits from Epstein or his associates, and that one Robert Millard had allegedly colluded with Puri to precipitate the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Puri says these claims are false, malicious and entirely without factual basis.
The suit alleges,
“The Defendant Nos. 1 to 14 and several unidentified John Doe(s)/Ashok Kumar(s) have strategically propagated these unfounded allegations through sensationalist and manipulative formats, including edited videos, misleading captions, and doctored thumbnails, designed to maximise public outrage, digital virality, and consequent reputational harm to the Plaintiff [Puri],”
The petition also states that “she is being targeted in a coordinated and motivated manner with the clear intention of maligning and discrediting her, both in India and on a global scale” and that the attacks stem from her being Hardeep Puri’s daughter.
The suit contends,
“It is only because Mr Hardeep Singh Puri is currently a senior member of the Union Cabinet that his daughter, the Plaintiff, who is an exceptionally accomplished and self-reliant professional, is being viciously attacked,”
Senior Advocate Mahesh Jethmalani has settled the suit, which was filed by Shantanu Agarwal, Madhulika Rai Sharma, Manas Arora and Syed Hamza Ghayour.
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