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In the defamation suit, Adani Enterprises alleged that certain journalists, activists and organisations damaged its reputation and cost its stakeholders billions of dollars
Adani Enterprises argued that these journalists and activists have “aligned with anti-India interests and have been continuously targeting Adani Enterprises’ infrastructure and energy projects. (Getty)
The Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting sent notices to two media houses and several YouTube channels on Tuesday, ordering them to take down 138 videos and 83 Instagram posts mentioning the Adani Group.
In a letter, the ministry said the orders were based on an ex parte order issued by the North West Delhi district court on September 6 in a defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises. An ex parte order is issued when some parties to a case, in this case the journalists and activists involved, are not heard, The Wire reported.
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Several journalists and activists, including Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskant Das and Ayush Joshi, were asked by the court to take down articles and social media posts allegedly defamatory of the Adani Group.
Those who received notices from the information and broadcasting ministry on Tuesday, however, are not party to that case.
The Wire too was served the notice on Tuesday for an Instagram post that referred to allegations levelled by the US Securities and Exchange Commission against the Adani Group, which are matters of record. Others included in the takedown orders are Newslaundry, Ravish Kumar, Ajit Anjum, Dhruv Rathee, Akash Banerjee aka Deshbhakt and others.
The journalists have now filed two separate appeals before the district court against the civil court order, arguing that AEL has not been mentioned in their news reports and they only refer to Gautam Adani or the Adani Group.
“It is submitted that a bare perusal of the reproduced portions of the alleged defamatory articles clearly reveals that at no place has the Plaintiff been called out, referred to, or even remotely mentioned. In each and every impugned publication, the references are confined exclusively to Mr. Gautam Adani or to the Adani Group,” the petition states.
The ministry’s letter states that the publications had failed to act in the timeframe stipulated by the court order. “Accordingly, you are directed to take appropriate action for compliance of the aforementioned Order, and submit the action taken to the ministry within 36 hours of the issue of this communication,” it reads.
In the defamation suit before the civil judge, Adani Enterprises had alleged that certain journalists, activists and organisations damaged its reputation and cost its stakeholders billions of dollars by causing massive loss to its image, brand equity and credibility of India’s brand as a country, Bar and Bench reported.
Adani Enterprises argued that these journalists and activists have “aligned with anti-India interests and have been continuously targeting Adani Enterprises’ infrastructure and energy projects which are critical to India’s infrastructure and energy security and have disrupted these projects with ulterior motives”.
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The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d…Read More
The News Desk is a team of passionate editors and writers who break and analyse the most important events unfolding in India and abroad. From live updates to exclusive reports to in-depth explainers, the Desk d… Read More
September 17, 2025, 11:08 IST
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