A Delhi court has directed the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders to remove alleged defamatory content targeting BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj. The court said her reputation could suffer “irreparable harm” and restrained further circulation of the posts.
A Delhi court has passed an important interim order directing the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and its leaders Saurabh Bharadwaj and Ankush Narang to immediately remove allegedly defamatory content targeting BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj. The order comes amid a growing political and legal dispute over a viral video linked to protests in Delhi.
The interim direction was issued by Principal District & Sessions Judge Gurvinder Pal Singh at the Saket Court. The Court also restrained the AAP leaders and the party from further publishing or sharing the disputed content across any social media platform until the next hearing.
The controversy started after a video dated April 19, 2026, surfaced online. The video showed BJP leaders, including Bansuri Swaraj and Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse, participating in a protest outside the residence of Rahul Gandhi. During the protest, Delhi Police detained several participants.
According to Swaraj, while being escorted by police officials, she held Raksha Khadse’s hand as a natural gesture of support and solidarity. However, she alleged that Saurabh Bharadwaj later circulated a manipulated version of the video with misleading captions and edits intended to damage her reputation.
As per the allegations, the video was shared under the banner “Bharatiye Drama Company” or “BJP Drama Company.” It included visual edits such as a red circle and text suggesting improper conduct. The captions used in the video were highly controversial and allegedly defamatory.
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The Court, after hearing the matter, observed that Swaraj had made out a strong initial case. It noted that allowing the content to remain online could cause serious and irreparable harm to her public image and reputation.
“In view of the foregoing discussions, the Defendants are accordingly restrained from continuing to publish, host, uploading / circulating / reposting or disseminating the defamatory content in video dated 19.04.2026 and the defamatory content in press conference dated 21.04.2026 on Instagram, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, YouTube or any other social media platform or digital medium as well as to forth with take down and remove the same from all such social media platforms and to postpone publications of said defamatory content from all social media platforms, till the next date of hearing,”
The Court further emphasized the importance of protecting an individual’s reputation, especially in the digital age where content spreads rapidly and widely.
“In the instant case, the reputation of the Plaintiff is at stake. Reputation of the Plaintiff would suffer irreparable harm if injunctions as prayed for are not granted as she would suffer further loss to her reputation,”
On the other hand, AAP and its leaders opposed the grant of interim relief. They argued that they were not given enough time to respond properly to the allegations. They also questioned whether the content was still available online and claimed that Swaraj’s plea was vague and premature.
Despite these objections, the Court found that the balance of convenience was in favour of Swaraj and that immediate protection was necessary to prevent further damage.
The Court has now directed all defendants to remove the disputed content and refrain from sharing it again until further orders. The matter is currently at an interim stage, and a detailed hearing will take place on May 15, 2026.
The legal team representing Swaraj included Advocates Siddhesh Kotwal, Manya Hasija, Ana Upadhyay, Paritosh Anil, Shubhansh Patel, Saurabh Guha, and Anupriya Poddar.
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