A Delhi court has issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a criminal defamation case dating back to 2018. The case was filed by Vikas Pandey over a video titled “BJP IT Cell Part 2.”
Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket District Court passed the order on October 12. The summons was physically served at Rathee’s residence in Gurugram, as he is currently in India. The next hearing is scheduled for October 17.
Advocate Samaksh Sharma, appearing for Pandey, informed the court that Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria and had come to India in connection with ongoing protests. Fresh summons were sought to ensure prompt service.
Pandey, who founded the social media page “I Support Narendra Modi,” alleged that the video claimed he was part of the BJP IT cell and had offered Rs 50 lakh through a middleman to one Mahavir Prasad to withdraw allegations that the organisation spreads fake news.
The same case also involved Aam Aadmi Party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, who was then Delhi Chief Minister, for having re-shared the video on social media in 2018. The Delhi High Court had refused to quash the summons against him, noting that a Chief Minister’s large following implied wider reach and that a retweet amounted to public endorsement. Kejriwal challenged the order in the Supreme Court. On February 26, 2024, a bench stayed the trial court proceedings against him. Proceedings against Rathee continued.
Rathee’s presence in India coincides with protests organised by the Cockroach Janta Party over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and demanding the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. On October 10, police detained him at his Gurugram home in what was described as a preventive action, citing lack of permission for the protest. Around 50 personnel were involved. He had participated in a related protest in Bengaluru two days earlier. In a subsequent video, Rathee alleged that plainclothes personnel in unmarked vehicles were tracking his movements.