A Gandhinagar court has issued notices to journalists Abhisar Sharma and Raju Parulekar in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Group over alleged false claims. Both have been directed to appear on September 20.
Ahmedabad: On September 16, a Gandhinagar court sent notices to senior journalists Abhisar Sharma and Raju Parulekar in a criminal defamation case filed by the Adani Group.
The Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Gandhinagar, PS Adalaj, has directed both to appear personally before it on September 20.
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The Adani Group, one of India’s largest business conglomerates, has alleged that both Sharma, who runs a YouTube channel, and Parulekar, who writes as a blogger, published and circulated false information aimed at damaging its reputation.
According to the company’s official statement,
“The Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class, Gandhinagar, PS Adalaj, has issued notices to both individuals and directed them to appear on September 20.”
The complaints have been filed under Sections 356(1), 356(2), and 356(3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, which correspond to Sections 499, 500, and 501 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) that deal with criminal defamation. If the court admits the cases and they move to trial, the accused could face up to two years in jail, a fine, or both.
The Adani Group has argued that the controversy started with a video uploaded on August 18, 2025, by Abhisar Sharma on YouTube.
In this video, Sharma alleged that “thousands of bighas of land in Assam had been allotted to Adani” and linked the issue to what he called a “pattern of supposed political favours.”
Similarly, the complaints also point towards several tweets and retweets by Raju Parulekar since January 2025, where he made claims of land grabs, scams, and undue advantages allegedly connected to Adani.
Rejecting these accusations, the company said,
“The complaints point to a YouTube video uploaded on August 18, 2025, by Sharma alleging that thousands of bighas of land in Assam had been allotted to Adani and tying the company to a pattern of supposed political favours, as well as to a series of tweets and retweets by Parulekar since January 2025 making similar claims of land grabs, scams and undue benefits.”
The Adani Group has strongly denied the charges and called them “baseless and misleading.” In its clarification, the company further said,
“The company also clarified that Mahabal Cement Pvt Ltd, the firm at the centre of the High Court case, has no connection with Adani in any manner.”
The company has also pointed out that the Gauhati High Court order, dated August 12, 2025, which was cited by the journalists, did not name Adani at all.
The statement read,
“The Gauhati High Court order dated August 12, 2025, cited by respondents, made no reference to the business conglomerate.”
As evidence before the court, Adani has provided Sharma’s YouTube video and its transcript, Parulekar’s social media posts, the Gauhati High Court order, and other supporting documents.
If the court finds sufficient grounds to proceed, the matter will turn into a full trial where both journalists could face punishment under criminal defamation laws.
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