The Calcutta High Court on Monday, October 26, restrained the circulation of an online video titled 'How Modi and Adani Stole India: The Friendship Files' and directed YouTube, X and Instagram to remove or disable access to it at the specific URLs listed in the petition, Bar and Bench reported.
Source: Bar and Bench
Justice Aryak Dutt passed the ad-interim injunction in a defamation suit filed by Adani Enterprises Limited against Sabeer Bhatia and others. The court said the injunction will remain in force until January 31, 2027, or until further orders, whichever is earlier, and that the case will be heard next on January 31.
What the court said about the video
According to LiveLaw's report of the order, the court held that the case appeared to fall within the exceptional category of defamation cases warranting a pre-trial injunction. It described the video as a dramatised narrative rather than a news report, and noted that its title expressly imputes theft.
Source: LiveLaw
The court observed that the video contained serious factual imputations against the Adani Group, including allegations of complicity in narcotics smuggling linked to terror funding and of procuring police violence and a false prosecution against a farmer, and noted that no material placed before it showed any finding by an authority to support those allegations. Bar and Bench reported that the court also noted the original video had already been disabled but was uploaded again, which it said prima facie showed a lack of good faith.
Platforms told to block reposts too
The court restrained the respondents from publishing, republishing, uploading, sharing or otherwise disseminating the video, its clips, excerpts, shortened versions or materially identical reproductions, and directed the platforms to disable reposts, quote posts, shares and similar engagements through which the video remained accessible.
At the same time, the court clarified that constructive criticism or truthful reporting on the Adani Group or on government policy, backed by evidence, is not barred. It said online content spreads quickly through reposts and re-uploads, and that injury to reputation from continued republication cannot be adequately compensated in money alone.
Bar and Bench reported that the video, uploaded on October 9, was made by Indian-American businessman Sabeer Bhatia, co-founder of Hotmail, in collaboration with a channel called 'Shadow Citizens', was posted on Bhatia's YouTube channel 'Bcubed' and on X, and had garnered over 80,000 views on YouTube and X. The claims made in the video are the subject of the pending suit and have not been established; the matter is listed for hearing on January 31, 2027.