Delhi court summons Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh in Rajat Sharma defamation case

A Delhi court has summoned Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh in a criminal complaint filed by senior journalist and television anchor Rajat Sharma, alleging defamation, forgery and use of a fabricated video to harm his reputation..The order was passed on February 2, 2026 by Judicial Magistrate First Class Devanshi Janmeja of the Saket Courts, New Delhi, after concluding that sufficient prima facie material existed to proceed against the accused under Sections 465, 469, 471, 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code .Sharma alleged that the accused persons falsely claimed that he had used a derogatory and abusive word against Ragini Nayak during a live television debate on India TV on June 4, 2024, while hosting coverage of the Lok Sabha election results.According to the complaint, Nayak posted a video clip on social media platform X on June 10, 2024, accusing Sharma of abusing her, with a caption superimposed on the video suggesting the use of an obscene slur. Sharma claimed that this caption was not part of the original live telecast and that the video had been tampered with.It was further alleged that Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh retweeted the video and echoed the allegation, calling Sharma’s conduct “condemnable” and demanding an apology, despite knowing that the content was false and manipulated.Sharma contended that the tweets and press statements led millions of viewers to believe that he had abused a woman panellist, causing severe reputational harm and mental trauma..During the inquiry , the court sought a forensic examination of the disputed videos. The Forensic Science Laboratory (FSL) reported visible alterations in the videos uploaded by the accused, noting the presence of titles and captions indicative of post-production editing.The court observed that the complainant had established that no “raw footage” existed for a live television broadcast and that the alleged invective had been superimposed onto the telecast footage to create a false electronic record..The magistrate also took note of a prior order passed by the Delhi High Court on June 14, 2024, in a civil suit filed by Sharma, directing the accused to take down the impugned social media posts after observing that no abusive language was used by Sharma in the debate..Holding that reputation is an integral facet of the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution, the court found that the complainant had prima facie demonstrated that the accused persons made defamatory imputations with the knowledge and intention of harming his reputation.The court further observed that the coordinated timing of the tweets and public statements indicated common intention among the accused to malign Sharma’s image.Court held "Now coming back to the question of summoning, the allegations referred above are, if seen in the entire context of the things and evidence of the complainant, prima facie seems to be defamatory if they do not fall within any of the statutory defences prescribed by law itself as well as the other legal requirements, and appear to be intending to harm the reputation of the complainant. The entire burden will be on the accused persons to plead and prove the defence on which they may rely upon, at appropriate stage.".Accordingly, the court directed that Ragini Nayak, Pawan Khera and Jairam Ramesh be summoned to face trial for offences relating to forgery and defamation. The matter has been listed for appearance on July 27, 2026..Sharma was represented by Advocate Kanika Vohra. .[Read Order].Follow Bar and Bench channel on WhatsAppDownload the Bar and Bench Mobile app for instant access to the latest legal news.