Ankita Bhandari murder: BJP's Dushyant Kumar Gautam files defamation case in Delhi High Court against Congress, AAP

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) national general secretary Dushyant Kumar Gautam has filed a defamation case before the Delhi High Court against the Congress, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and several other individuals over posts linking him to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari case. .Gautam has sought the removal of the allegedly defamatory content and ₹2 crore in damages. The case is likely to be listed before the Court on Wednesday. .The Ankita Bhandari case relates to the September 2022 murder of a 19-year-old resort receptionist in Uttarakhand. Bhandari allegedly faced pressure to provide sexual favours to guests at an establishment run by Pulkit Arya, the son of a former BJP leader. Her body was recovered from a canal. A court later convicted Arya and two others and sentenced them to life imprisonment for her murder.A fresh round of controversy emerged recently after Urmila Sanawar, wife of former BJP MLA Suresh Rathore, alleged that a “VIP” who had sought sexual favours from Ankita Bhandari was a senior leader. Sanawar released an audio clip in which Rathore is purportedly heard identifying the alleged VIPs as BJP national general secretary Dushyant Gautam and another senior party leader. Rathore later claimed the audio clip was AI-generated and accused Sanawar of attempting to defame the party. Gautam too refuted the allegations..In his petition, Gautam has argued that the allegedly defamatory videos and posts first began circulating on December 24, 2025 and quickly went viral.According to the plea, the content was deliberately fabricated and disseminated to create a false narrative associating him with a criminal case in which he has neither been named as an accused nor implicated by any investigating agency. The plea asserted that the campaign amounts to “fake news” intended to extract political mileage and cause irreparable damage to his public standing.As per the petition, the Uttarakhand Police have registered multiple FIRs against defendants Urmila Sanawar and Suresh Rathore for allegedly spreading misinformation in connection with the Ankita Bhandari case.According to the BJP leader, despite extensive investigation, no material or evidence has emerged linking him to the incident.Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia will appear for Dushyant Kumar Gautam..Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.