Delhi High Court issues summons to Abhijit Iyer Mitra in defamation case by women scribes

Delhi High Court summons Abhijit Iyer Mitra on defamation lawsuit by women journalists, emphasizing 'laxman rekha' in speech.

The Delhi High Court issued summons to commentator Abhijit Iyer Mitra on Monday (May 26, 2025) on a lawsuit by nine women journalists alleging defamation and asked him to be mindful of the ‘laxman rekha’ while exercising his right to speech.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav asked Mr. Mitra to give his written submissions in the case filed by journalists from media house Newslaundry and also sought the stand of social media platform X.

Also read: Delhi High Court slams Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for posts against Newslaundry journalists, directs their deletion from X

The plaintiffs alleged that Mr. Mitra used “derogatory terms and slurs” while making “defamatory, false, malicious and unsubstantiated allegations” on X.

Justice Kaurav noted that while the entire alleged defamatory content had been deleted by Mr. Mitra following certain remarks by the Court last week, the plaintiffs sought further directions to restrain him.

“Having considered the nature of the submissions by the plaintiff, the Court deems it appropriate to direct issuance of summons to the defendants,” the Court said.

“We are not restraining you (Mitra), but where laxman rekha lies, you must understand. So long as you continue to use your right to speech... when it becomes defamatory, the plaintiff will be at liberty to come back to court,” the Judge stated.