Dhruv Rathee Resists Defamation Suit By BJP Mumbai Spokesperson, Says The Leader Has History Of Using Abusive Language

Dhruv Rathee has opposed before a Delhi Court the interim injunction application filed by BJP Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Karamshi Nakhua in his defamation suit against the YouTuber.

Rathee has alleged that Nakhua has a history of abusing random public figures, politicians holding constitutional seats and government servants on public platforms.

The reply includes Nakhua's tweets on X, formerly Twitter, against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi and journalists Barkha Dutt and Nidhi Razdan.

Nakhua has alleged that Rathee referred to him as a part of “violent and abusive trolls” in his YouTube video titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav.” He has sought Rs. 20 lakhs damages from Rathee for “defamation caused to him on cyber space.”

Rathee has contended that in the impugned video, he has called Nakhua “hinsak gaalibaaz”, but the BJP leader in the suit has “deliberately and consciously” misconstrued the statement and alleged that the YouTuber has referred him as “violent and abusive”.

It is Rathee's case that both the terms, “hinsak gaalibaaz” and “violent and abusive”, hold entirely different meaning and connotations. He has also said that Nakhua has failed to state any averment to the effect which establishes the manner in which the term “hinsak gaalibaaz” was defaming and tarnishing his reputation.

The reply further states that the statement made by Rathee in the impugned video was a result of extensive background research about Nakhua and his conducts in public domain.

“…it is submitted that, as proclaimed, Plaintiff is a public figure, thereby, any conduct of him in public domain, in the present case it is 'X' (previously known as Twitter) is bound by public scrutiny. Having regard to the above-cited judgements, any fair comment on such conduct shall not amount to defamation,” it adds.

Earlier this month, District Judge Gunjan Gupta of Saket Courts had issued summons in the suit.

Nakhua alleges that in the video in question, Rathee has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hosted “violent and abusive trolls like Ankit Jain, Suresh Nakhua, and Tajinder Bagga” at his official residence.

“The video in question has received over 24 million views and more than 2.3 million likes, a number that continues to soar with every passing moment,” the suit states.

It adds that as a result of Rathee's allegedly defamatory statements in the video, Nakhua's reputation has been severely damaged. It adds that the allegedly false accusations made by Rathee have led to widespread condemnation and ridicule of Nakhua, causing irreparable harm to his personal and professional life.

“That the Defendant No.1 is also engaged in committing habitual defamation, giving online threats, deteriorating fellow YouTuber's careeretc. by using his audience which runs in over 23.3 million subscribers on YouTube and over 2.6 million followers on X platform,” the suit reads.

The suit seeks to restrain Rathee from tweeting, posting or creating any content on YouTube or X Corp regarding Nakhua.