BJP IT Cell head Amit Malviya moves Delhi HC with defamation suit against Samajwadi Party and its media cell
Aug 16, 2024
New Delhi [India], August 16 : Amit Malviya, head of the BJP IT Cell, on Friday approached the Delhi High Court over a tweet posted by the Samajwadi Party's Media Cell on X Corp (formerly Twitter), which accuses him of sexual misconduct. Amit Malviya has sued the Samajwadi Party media cell and the Samajwadi Party (SP) for defamation.
Malviya's Lawyers argued that the tweet, posted on August 8, was "defamatory" and "utterly scandalous," and had caused significant harm to his reputation.
The suit filed by Amit Malviya states that the defamatory tweet has been viewed by 55,300 users on "X" (formerly Twitter). The post has been reposted 724 times and liked by 1,652 users, exacerbating the damage to his reputation.
Consequently, Malviya is seeking a mandatory and permanent injunction, along with damages, from the court due to the adverse impact of the defamatory statement.
Justice Vikas Mahajan, after hearing the senior lawyers representing Amit Malviya who requested urgent action to remove the "defamatory" content, indicated that he would issue an order on the plea.
Malviya's counsel argued that the defamatory tweet receives 5,000 to 10,000 views daily and emphasized the urgency of removing it, stating that no one should be exposed to such statements.
Amit Malviya was represented by Senior Advocate Arvind Nayar, who sought an interim order to direct the removal of the impugned content. The suit has been filed through Advocate Surjendu Sankar Das.
Nalin Kohli, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India and National Spokesperson, BJP also appeared for Amit Malviya in the matter.
Suit stated that the dispute arose after the allegations of rape against an SP leader in Uttar Pradesh's Ayodhya. The accused in the case are SP leader Moeed Khan and another individual named Raju Khan.
On August 3, SP Chief Akhilesh Yadav tweeted that a DNA test should be conducted and the guilty should be punished, but if the allegations are found to be false, then action should be taken against the officials involved.
On the same day, Amit Malviya quoted Yadav's tweet and questioned what he intended to prove with the DNA test.
The SP Media Cell's Twitter handle responded to Amit Malviya by posting a tweet on X that included photos of BJP leaders with individuals accused or convicted of rape.
The images featured Prime Minister Narendra Modi with Asaram Bapu (convicted of rape) and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with Swami Chinmayanand (accused of rape). The tweet also included allegations against Malviya, claiming he invited women to his hotel and had illicit relationships with men.
