A Delhi court has issued a fresh bailable warrant against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in connection with a criminal defamation case that has been pending since 2018. The case was filed by social media activist Vikas Sankrityayan, who is also known as Vikas Pandey, following the publication of a video by the YouTuber.
Presiding over the matter at the Saket court, Judicial Magistrate First Class Rahul Jain issued the order after Rathee failed to appear for the scheduled hearing. The defamation complaint centers on a video uploaded by Rathee in May 2018, in which he alleged that the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) IT cell had attempted to bribe Sankrityayan to malign him. Sankrityayan subsequently initiated legal proceedings, claiming that these allegations were false and had caused significant damage to his reputation.
The legal dispute has a long history, as the video in question was also shared by Arvind Kejriwal, who served as the Chief Minister of Delhi at that time. Consequently, defamation proceedings were initiated against both the former Chief Minister and the YouTuber. While the case against Kejriwal concluded after he tendered an apology before the Supreme Court, the trial court proceedings against Rathee, the original creator of the content, have remained ongoing.
The issuance of the fresh warrant follows a procedural setback involving the previous attempt to summon the accused. On October 17, the court had issued a bailable warrant that could not be executed because it had been sent to an incorrect address in Austria. During the hearing on October 31, the court directed that a new warrant be issued to Rathee’s address in Gurugram, Haryana.
During the recent proceedings, the court was informed that Rathee had reportedly left India. In response to this update, the court questioned the necessity of the urgency in the matter, with the magistrate observing, "Ab itni jaldbazi ka koi logic hai?" (Is there any logic to such haste?). Despite these observations, the court maintained its stance on the legal process, and the matter is now listed for the next hearing on November 23.
Vikas Sankrityayan, the complainant in this case, is a digital creator and writer known for his association with the 'I Support NaMo' online group. His social media profiles indicate that he is a software architect and has expressed a professional interest in combating fake news and social media misuse. He has publicly described himself as one of the early targets of Rathee’s videos, asserting that the claims made against him were entirely unfounded.
As the legal case approaches its next date in late November, the focus remains on the judicial process regarding the defamation complaint. The court continues to handle the matter as part of the established legal proceedings initiated over six years ago, with the latest warrants serving as the current effort to ensure the presence of the accused in the ongoing trial.
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