Journalist Ravi Nair has moved the Gujarat High Court to seek anticipatory bail in a criminal case registered in connection with a news article written by him about the Adani Group in the Washington Post.

Justice Sanjeev J Thaker today recused himself from hearing the plea.

Advocates Abhik Chimni and Ronith Joy appeared for Nair.

Nair along with a Washington Post reporter Pranshu Verma had last year written an investigative report about Life Insurance Corporation of India's proposed investment in the Adani Group. It was published by the Washington Post in October 2025.

When the LIC denied the report, Nair in a post on X responded with screenshots of certain documents.

Subsequently, the State police in May 2026 booked Nair in a case of forgery and cheating on a complaint made by Adani Ports and Special Economic Zone Limited. The company alleged that the documents uploaded by Nair on his X handle were false and fabricated.

Nair was granted transit bail by the Kerala High Court in September for three weeks to approach the competent courts in Gujarat. A sessions court in Ahmedabad dismissed his anticipatory bail plea last month.

In his bail plea before the High Court, Nair has argued that the police added the offence of cheating to the case only to make the matter non-bailable. The offence is not made out, he added.

He also contended that the case only involves verification of the documents for which the relevant material is already in possession of the police. Nair also said that he has cooperated with the investigating agency.

Pertinently, a Gujarat court earlier this year convicted Nair in a criminal defamation case filed by the Adani Group in connection with a series of tweets and online articles accusing the conglomerate of numerous unethical practices.

The Court ruled that the content went beyond fair criticism and amounted to criminal defamation. Nair is currently on bail in the case.