The Delhi High Court on Wednesday warned political commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra that it would order an FIR against him if he failed to take down allegedly defamatory posts targeting Newslaundry Executive Editor Manisha Pande and eight other women journalists. The court granted him five hours to comply.
The posts, made on X (formerly Twitter) between February and May 2025, were described by the court as "not permissible in any civilised society". The court said it was inclined to pass an interim order but paused proceedings after Mr Iyer-Mitra's counsel assured that the tweets would be removed within the specified time.
A single-judge bench made the observations during the hearing of a civil defamation suit filed by the journalists. The complainants have alleged that Mr Iyer-Mitra referred to them as "prostitutes" and described their workplace, Newslaundry, as a "brothel". The posts are at the centre of a legal action demanding a written apology and Rs 2 crore in damages.
"These kind of languages, whatever may be background, can these kind of language against women be permissible in the society?" the court remarked during the proceedings.
"We perhaps as a constitutional court, may direct suo motu registration of a criminal FIR against the defendant and take him into custody," the court warned, adding, "If this is the kind of language, then why are you not removing it?"
The court expressed dissatisfaction that the offensive material had not been removed by the time of the hearing, despite earlier notices and the nature of the content.
The submissions made in court on behalf of Mr Iyer-Mitra came from advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai, who stated that his client had points to raise. At the same time, Mr Dehadrai conceded that "the choice of words could have been avoided". Mr Dehadrai told the court that the defendant would take down the offensive posts within five hours.
