Delhi HC rejects journalist's plea against removal of X post identifying man who harassed her on flight

The Delhi High Court has dismissed an appeal by a journalist challenging an order directing her to remove a social media post in which she shared a man’s photograph and workplace details while accusing him of sexual harassment on a Delhi–Mumbai flight.

In an order passed on April 2, a division bench of Justices Dinesh Mehta and Vinod Kumar upheld the interim ruling of a single-judge who had directed the journalist to take down her post on X (formerly Twitter) and refrain from publishing similar allegations until the next hearing. 

The single-judge had also criticised the journalist for making the allegations on X before lodging a complaint with the police. The judge opined that it was overhasty and aimed at sensationalising the issue. 

The division bench agreed with the single-judge’s findings and underscored that the journalist’s insistence on keeping her social media post up bordered on adamancy. It showed that the court's jurisdiction was being misused for the battle of ego rather than as a recourse against sexual harassment that she might have suffered, the Court added.

“As a parting remark, we would like to mention that the matter was otherwise listed before another Division Bench which was not holding the Court and the same was mentioned and listed before us as if the heavens were falling,” the Bench said. 

The incident dates to March 11 when the woman, a journalist by profession, accused a man sitting next to her of inappropriate physical conduct during the flight. 

Shortly after the flight landed, the journalist posted the accusation on the social media platform X, naming the man, a senior professional at PricewaterhouseCoopers. She shared his photograph and professional details as well.

The post soon gained traction and many news outlets carried the reports on the incident. Bollywood actor Richa Chadha reposted the allegations with the remark, “Make him famous”. 

However, the man denied the allegation, claiming he remained seated throughout the journey and had fallen asleep shortly before landing. 

He later approached the Delhi High Court with a defamation suit against the journalist, Chadha and several media platforms, leading to an injunction order against the journalist and and media houses.

In its order, the single-judge pulled actor Richa Chadha and media houses ABP and NDTV for publicly “shaming” and amplifying unverified allegations. The Court termed their conduct in the case an instance of “digital vigilantism”.

Chadha had removed her post by then. The single-judge then proceeded to direct the journalist and media houses to take down their posts.  

Challenging the order, the journalist contended that her post was a legitimate exercise of her fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. Her counsel argued that she had merely narrated her experience and that restricting the post infringed upon her rights.

However, the division bench rejected this argument, holding that the right to free speech is not absolute.

“The order of learned Single Judge, in our opinion, does not amount to curtailment of her right. By striking a balance between the appellant’s right under Article 19(1)(a) vis-a-vis the respondent’s right under Articles 21 and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India, the learned Single Judge, in his wisdom, has deemed it appropriate to direct the appellant to take down the post. If the appellant’s purported Fundamental Right under Article 19(1)(a) is suspended for some time, it cannot be said that there is a grave urgency warranting immediate interference,” the Court said. 

The bench also noted that the post had remained online for 202days, indicating that the journalist had already conveyed her account publicly. 

Therefore, it rejected the journalist’s appeal against the single judge’s order. 

Advocates Arjun Dewan, Shaurya Mittal and Vanya Chhabra appeared for the journalist. 

Senior Advocate Shyel Trehan with advocates Priyadarshini Dewan, Shankari Mishra, Niti Khanna and Vidhi Jain appeared for the PwC Partner.