Delhi Court Issues Bailable Warrants Against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018 Defamation Case
Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain issues warrants after a process server reports being unable to deliver the summons; the next hearing is scheduled for October 31.
NEW DELHI, Oct 17: A Delhi court on Saturday issued bailable warrants against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a defamation case dating back to 2018, after a process server reported that his residence was locked while attempting to deliver a court summons.
Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain passed the order in a complaint filed by Vikas Pandey, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s IT Cell, who has accused Rathee of defamation over a video published on his YouTube channel.
The detailed order has not yet been made available. The court has scheduled the next hearing for October 31.
The latest development follows an order passed on October 12, when the court issued fresh summons directing Rathee to appear in connection with the complaint. The court noted that the complainant had been attempting to serve the YouTuber for several years and ordered that the notice be sent to his residence in Gurugram, Haryana.
Advocate Samaksh Sharma, representing Pandey, told the court that Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria and had travelled to India to attend protests organised by the Cockroach Janata Party in Delhi.
The court also noted that Rathee had initially been summoned in July 2019.
The case concerns allegations arising from a video uploaded by Rathee, which Pandey claims was defamatory. The allegations remain part of the pending legal proceedings, and the court is yet to determine the matter on its merits.
The issuance of bailable warrants is a procedural step in the case and does not constitute a finding of guilt. Further proceedings are expected when the matter comes up for hearing later this month.
