State: Applicable Across India
Year: 2025
Date: September 16, 2025
Source:
Censorship – News Media/ Documentaries
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting ordered 13 news publishers to remove allegedly defamatory content about Adani following a Delhi court ruling.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting on Tuesday issued a takedown notice to 13 news publishers on YouTube and Instagram after a Delhi civil court earlier this month restrained multiple journalists and activists from publishing allegedly unverified and defamatory reports against the Adani group and ordered the removal of any such content already published.
Journalists and media publishers received a list of 138 URLs of YouTube videos and 83 Instagram links which are to be taken down. A copy of the ministry’s order was sent to Google and Meta, which own YouTube and Instagram, respectively, according to the order seen by HT. HT did not receive a response from both companies. The ministry’s order includes names of journalists, media houses, and creators, including Newslaundry, Ravish Kumar, Dhruv Rathee, The Wire, Abhisar Sharma, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, HW News, and Aakash Banerjee’s The Deshbhakt.
Updated On: September 18, 2025
Rohini Court reserves order on Paranjoy Guha Thakurta’s plea against gag order in Adani defamation case
The Rohini District Court in Delhi has reserved its judgment on a petition filed by senior journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, who has challenged an injunction restraining him from publishing or circulating articles about Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL).
The order under challenge was passed ex parte on September 6, directing that certain publications, websites, and online platforms take down allegedly defamatory material against the Adani Group. Thakurta approached the court seeking to have the order lifted, contending that it amounts to a sweeping gag on reporting and undermines press freedom.
Updated On: September 19, 2025
Delhi court quashes gag order against four journalists in Adani defamation case
A Delhi court on Thursday quashed an order that had asked four journalists to take down allegedly defamatory content against Adani Enterprises, emphasising that the gag had been issued without hearing the appellants.
However, the relief will not apply to a fifth journalist similarly muzzled — the veteran Paranjoy Guha Thakurta — because another court reserved its order on his appeal against the same gag order.
Guha Thakurta had filed a separate appeal, which was heard by district judge Sunil Chaudhary at the same court complex.