Thin line between defamation and criticism: Delhi HC on Raghav Chadha seeking protection of personality rights
The Delhi High Court on Thursday (May 21, 2026) expressed prima facie reservations over Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s plea alleging violation of his personality
The Delhi High Court on Thursday (May 21, 2026) expressed prima facie reservations over Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha’s plea alleging violation of his personality rights through AI-generated deepfakes, manipulated videos and allegedly defamatory social media content targeting him over his shift from AAP to BJP. The court also reminded that the line between defamation and criticism is “quite thin”. Justice Subramonium Prasad observed during the hearing that the issue appeared to be criticism of a political figure over his political decisions rather than a violation of personality rights.
“The first impression... Prima facie, there is no personality right violation,” the court remarked adding, “a decision taken by you in the political arena is being criticised”. Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, appearing for Mr. Chadha, argued that the content circulating online crossed the line from political criticism into defamation. He submitted that certain posts falsely portrayed Mr Chadha as having “sold himself for money”. Justice Prasad, however, questioned whether the grievance fell within the domain of personality rights jurisprudence.
“As a political leader, can you be sensitive…,” the court observed, adding that there was a distinction between “commercialising personality rights and criticism”. It referred to precedent in the Shashi Tharoor case where the court protected the personality rights of the Congress leaders because of his distinctive style of speech and demeanour. It also noted that while the right to reputation and dignity had to be protected, freedom of speech under Article 19 of the Constitution could not be curtailed lightly.
After Mr. Nayar pressed for interim relief against the alleged defamatory contents, the court directed that the plaint be registered as a suit and reserved orders on the plea for interim relief.
The BriefWire