India: Court win for journalists against Adani gag order

Journalists have secured a critical win in an ongoing legal battle with Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL), with a Delhi court ordering the removal of an 'ex parte' order against four journalists that prevented critical reporting on the multinational conglomerate. The International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and its affiliate, the Indian Journalists Union (IJU), welcome the ruling and call on AEL to cease its ongoing legal harassment against the media.

Adani Group signage is displayed at the construction site of a real estate project by Adani Realty, in Mumbai on November 30, 2024. Credit: Indranil Mukherjee / AFP

District Judge Ashish Aggarwal of Delhi's Rohini Courts ruled on September 18 to remove the order that restrained independent journalists Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskant Das, and Ayush Joshi from publishing any material deemed defamatory by Gautam Adani's AEL. Aggarwal described the original injunction order as "unsustainable", stating that it denied the journalists an opportunity for a hearing before its introduction on September 6.

The ruling followed the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting's issuance of notices to two media outlets and multiple YouTube channels on September 16, ordering the take-down of 138 videos and 83 social media posts that referred to AEL. This order included media outlets Newslaundry, The Wire, HW News, and The Deshbhakt, as well as the channels of Ravish Kumar, Ajit Anjum, and Dhruv Rathee.

The initial court order allowed AEL to restrict journalists and other parties, including Nair, Dasgupta, Das, Joshi, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Bob Brown Foundation, Dreamscape Network International Pvt Ltd, Getup Ltd, and Domain Directors Pvt Ltd, from publishing or circulating "unverified, unsubstantiated and ex facie defamatory" material about the company, with the removal of content to take place within 36 hours. AEL originally filed the defamation case in June 2024 against ten defendants.

Press freedom and journalist bodies, including the IJU and Editors Guild of India, condemned the 'gag order' as a threat to legitimate reporting and freedom of speech and expression, calling for due process in the addressing of defamation claims. The High Court will hear the plea case of digital news platform Newslaundry and journalist Ravish Kumar on September 25.

The IJU said: "This decision reaffirms the cornerstone of democratic journalism: the right to report without fear of arbitrary censorship or undue judicial overreach."

The IFJ said: "The court's decision to set aside the gag order is a vital victory for press freedom and due process in India. It rightly reinforces that legal mechanisms must not be weaponised to silence critical journalism. IFJ urges the Adani Group to cease its continuing legal harassment of independent media and immediately drop all punitive defamation charges.