As Adani files defamation case, Calcutta HC blocks sharing of video about alleged ties with Modi

The Calcutta High Court on Monday barred the publication, uploading and sharing of a documentary about the alleged close ties between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and industrialist Gautam Adani until January 31.

The order came after Adani Enterprises Limited filed a Rs 50 crore defamation suit against tech entrepreneur Sabeer Bhatia and others, seeking to stop the circulation of the 36-minute video, The Friendship Files: How Modi and Adani Stole India.

The video was uploaded on October 9 on Bhatia’s YouTube channel and was also posted on X.

Justice Aryak Dutt said that the documentary was not a news report. He added that the allegations made in the video were not substantiated by any authority.

The court described the documentary as a dramatised narrative whose title “insinuates theft” and whose narration and visuals were presented as factual.

“Constructive criticism or truthful reporting on the petitioner or on government policy, backed by evidence, is not barred,” the court said.

The original video had already been disabled, but Bhatia uploaded it again, the court noted. It said this prima facie showed “want of good faith”.

It added that online content could spread quickly through reposts and re-uploads and that continued circulation could cause reputational harm that could not be compensated through damages.

The court directed social media platforms to...

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