Overview

• District Judge Sunil Chaudhary moved appeals by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Newslaundry to District Judge Ashish Aggarwal, who will take them up after listing by the sessions judge.
• Judge Aggarwal last week set aside the September 6 ex-parte takedown order for four journalists, faulting the civil court for not hearing them before directing removals.
• The Delhi High Court adjourned to September 25 petitions by Newslaundry and Ravish Kumar that challenge the Information and Broadcasting Ministry’s September 16 communication seeking compliance with the civil order.
• Petitioners say the directive lacks legal authority, breaches separation of powers, and chills press freedom, and Newslaundry notes it was not a party to the suit and learned of the order only from the government’s note.
• The original civil order in Adani’s defamation case extended to unnamed ‘John Doe’ defendants and directed link removals, while the underlying defamation claims remain undecided.