Lawfare – Defamation, Journalists

Journalist and defence analyst Abhijit Iyer-Mitra has filed a Rs 20 lakh defamation suit against advocate Dushyant Arora and NDTV anchor Gargi Rawat over a tweet where was called a rape accused, LiveLaw reported on Saturday.

According to the suit filed in the Patiala House Court for loss of reputation, Arora allegedly wrote the tweet and Rawat “liked” it.

Journalist Rana Ayyub had called an article by Mitra in The Print titled “In Rana Ayyub, the White West has found its next Arundhati Roy” a “hit job”. Mitra wrote the article in response to a New Yorker article about the Narendra Modi-led government’s policies and actions against Muslims in the country.

Replying to Ayyub’s tweet, Arora allegedly tweeted that Mitra was accused of rape and that he routinely engaged in hate speech. Rawat is accused of “liking” the tweet.

“The plaintiff is a highly regarded member of India’s strategic community and also proudly identifies as a “gay” man,” his suit said. “Hence, to accuse him of rape also smacks of homophobia on the part of defendants.”