Dhruv Rathee issued bailable warrants by Delhi court in 2018 defamation case

A Delhi court has issued bailable warrants against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee after process servers were unable to deliver court summons to his residence in Gurugram, Haryana. The order was passed in connection with a 2018 criminal defamation complaint filed by Bharatiya Janata Party IT cell member Vikas Pandey.

Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket Courts issued the fresh warrants on Saturday after being informed that notice had been sent to Rathee's domestic address, but the premises were locked. The court has set 31 October for further proceedings in the matter.

Why the court issued fresh warrants

The legal proceedings stem from a video posted by Rathee in May 2018 titled 'BJP IT Cell Part II'. In the video, Rathee alleged that the BJP's IT cell had attempted to bribe an individual to defame him. Pandey, also known as Vikas Sanskrityayan, subsequently filed a defamation complaint alleging that the video contained false accusations designed to harm his public standing.

The case had originally been listed for hearing in November, but Pandey's legal counsel, advocate Samaksh Sharma, moved an application seeking an earlier date. Counsel informed the court that Rathee, who has resided in Austria for the past seven years, was currently in India to participate in political demonstrations in the capital.

Pandey argued that fresh summons were necessary so that prompt legal steps could be taken to serve the YouTuber while he remained within Indian jurisdiction.

Proceedings underway since 2019

Court records indicate that Rathee was first summoned in the matter in July 2019. However, efforts to execute service of the notice have faced repeated delays due to his extended stays abroad.

On 12 October, the magistrate directed that fresh summons be dispatched to Rathee's Gurugram location, allowing Pandey to accompany the court's process server to facilitate service. When the process server arrived at the premises, the residence was locked, prompting the magistrate to issue bailable warrants to secure his appearance.

Separately, Rathee is involved in another civil suit before the Saket Courts regarding content that alleged religious slurs, where complainants have sought an injunction against the hosting of the material online.