Overview
- A Saket court issued bailable warrants for YouTuber Dhruv Rathee after a process server reported his Gurugram home was locked during an attempt to serve a fresh summons, with the order recorded on Saturday, October 17 and the case listed for further hearing on October 31.
- The criminal complaint dates to a May 2018 video titled 'BJP IT Cell Part II' in which the plaintiff, Vikas Sankrityayan (also known as Vikas Pandey), says Rathee made defamatory claims including an alleged Rs 50 lakh retraction offer; those allegations remain unproven in court.
- Court documents show earlier service efforts began after an initial summons in July 2019 and the magistrate recently permitted dasti service, a procedure that lets the complainant accompany the process server to try to effect personal service.
- Rathee, who ordinarily lives in Europe, travelled to India this month to participate in Cockroach Janta Party protests and then left for London, where he publicly called for a demonstration at Parliament Square while these enforcement steps proceeded in Delhi.
- The case sits alongside related proceedings against AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal that have been stayed by the Supreme Court since February 2024, and it highlights practical challenges of cross‑border service and the use of criminal defamation to police online political speech.