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.
The Delhi High Court held that an acquitted or discharged person’s right to dignity and reputation under Article 21 can override press freedom under Article 19(1)(a). The Court upheld de-indexing of arrest-related news articles, noting that continued online availability causes lasting reputational harm.
On May 30, 2023, a misleading tweet alleged that Senior Advocate Pradeep Rai was summoned for questioning by the STF and falsely connected him to a conman. The tweet was deleted within two hours, but it damaged Rai’s reputation. AajTak later apologized, and mediation for a defamation case is ongoing.
