Delhi’s Saket District Court has issued summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a defamation suit filed by BJP Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Karamshi Nakhua.
Nakhua alleges that Dhruv Rathee referred to him as part of “violent and abusive trolls” in his YouTube video titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav.”
The BJP leader has sought Rs. 20 lakhs in damages from Rathee for the “defamation caused to him in cyberspace.”
Judge Gunjan Gupta issued summons to Rathee, as well as Google LLC and X Corp.
The matter will be heard next on August 6, 2024.
In his suit, Nakhua claims that Rathee’s video accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of hosting “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, with these numbers continuing to rise, according to the suit.
The suit argues that as a result of Rathee’s allegedly defamatory statements, Nakhua’s reputation has been severely damaged. It asserts that the false accusations have led to widespread condemnation and ridicule of Nakhua, causing irreparable harm to his personal and professional life.
It further alleges that Rathee is engaged in habitual defamation, issuing online threats, and deteriorating fellow YouTubers’ careers using his substantial audience, which includes over 23.3 million subscribers on YouTube and over 2.6 million followers on X platform. It seeks to restrain Dhruv Rathee from tweeting, posting, or creating any content on YouTube or X Corp against Suresh Karamshi Nakhua.
