Lawfare, Defamation – Journalists

In a response to last month’s Cobrapost exposé, lawyers representing Zee Media Corporation Limited – owner of Zee News and other related television channels – have threatened the investigative portal with defamation. Zee’s lawyers have also written to The Wire, which reported Cobrapost’s investigation, and possibly other media outlets too, demanding the taking down of its stories and reserving the right to take legal action.

In the Cobrapost sting, some of the biggest names in the Indian media were shown discussing and warming to business proposals from an undercover reporter who was seeking to promote the Hindutva agenda and influence the electoral outcome in 2019. Cobrapost’s editor Aniruddha Bahal told The Wire he has responded to Zee by “denying all averments” made in the notice and stating that “it seems that the same is designed to pressurise, intimidate and gag” his website.