Anchor Sudhir Chaudhary has removed social media posts that allegedly misidentified activist and civil services aspirant Vijay Sherawat as the person who made statements about “destroying” Parliament and creating a “Nepal like situation” in India during a Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protest.
Chaudhary’s lawyer, Senior Advocate Dayan Krishnan, told the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that the posts had been taken down voluntarily. He also said that the defendants had contacted social media platforms and asked them to remove any copies of the posts shared by third parties.
“I have taken it down on my own. We have taken a conscious decision to take it down,” Krishnan told Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
He added, “We have also written to social media intermediaries, saying that if any of our posts are there by third parties with you, please take them down also.”
₹5 Crore Defamation Case Against Sudhir Chaudhary
Sherawat has filed a ₹5 crore defamation suit against Chaudhary, his production company Essprit Productions and DD News.
According to the suit, an episode of Chaudhary’s programme DECODE identified Sherawat and showed his photograph while attributing statements about Parliament being “destroyed” and India being turned into “Nepal” to him.
Sherawat has denied making those statements. He has claimed that the remarks were made by another unidentified person at a different event.
The petition also alleges that the defendants failed to verify the identity of the person in the footage before broadcasting it. Sherawat further claimed that a low quality version of the footage was used, making it difficult to distinguish between the two people.
Sherawat Wants Case to Continue
Chaudhary’s lawyer argued that since the social media posts had been removed, there was no reason for the proceedings to continue.
Sherawat, however, opposed the request and told the court that he wanted to pursue the defamation case.
The court also considered the issue of court fees. According to Bar and Bench, Sherawat was required to deposit around ₹4.90 lakh but had deposited ₹100. His lawyer sought additional time, saying that Sherawat was a student. The court allowed more time for the payment.
The Delhi High Court had earlier issued summons to Chaudhary, Essprit Productions and DD News in the case and sought their response to Sherawat’s request for interim relief.
Case to Be Heard Again in January
The court has not yet decided the merits of Sherawat’s defamation allegations.
With Sherawat seeking to continue the proceedings despite the removal of the posts, the Delhi High Court has listed the matter for further hearing in January 2027.
The case remains pending before the court.
