New Delhi: A Delhi court has ordered NDTV journalist Gargi Rawat to pay Rs 10,000 in damages to Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for liking a defamatory tweet that falsely accused him of rape. The order was passed on September 8 by District Judge Satyabrata Panda of the Patiala House Courts in a defamation suit filed by Iyer-Mitra, as per a report by Bar and Bench.
The court held that Rawat’s act of liking the tweet amounted to republication, making her liable for defamation. Iyer-Mitra had initially sought Rs 20 lakh in damages, but the court reduced the amount to Rs 10,000, citing mitigating factors including Iyer-Mitra’s own history of controversial remarks online.
'Liking' is 'Republication', Rules Court
The dispute stems from a December 2019 tweet by Mumbai-based lawyer Dushyant Arora, who had responded to journalist Rana Ayyub’s criticism of Iyer-Mitra’s article in The Print, titled “In Rana Ayyub, the White West has found its next Arundhati Roy.”
Arora had tweeted, “The man has been accused of rape, he routinely engages in hate speech.” Gargi Rawat liked this tweet, which then appeared on her Twitter profile.
Iyer-Mitra argued that the tweet was defamatory and that Rawat’s ‘like’ amounted to its republication, thereby extending its reach and visibility to her followers. The Court agreed, sayin, “There is no manner of doubt that the act of the defendant no 2 in ‘liking’ the original defamatory tweet amounted to republication," as quoted by Bar and Bench.
The judge rejected Rawat’s defence that she was being selectively targeted, despite many others also interacting with the tweet.
Damages Reduced Due to Mitigating Factors
While acknowledging that the allegations were “grave” and “false,” the court said the damages should be on the lower side. “Although the online republication and circulation by the defendant no 2 was of a grave false allegation, taking into account the mitigating factors, I consider it reasonable to grant the plaintiff damages on the lower side,” Judge Panda said, " as quoted by Bar and Bench.
Rawat has been ordered to delete the tweet if it remains on her profile. Failure to pay the Rs 10,000 within two weeks will attract an interest of 6% per annum until recovery.
