The Delhi High Court on Tuesday granted interim relief to Himayani Puri, daughter of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, directing the removal of allegedly defamatory online content linking her to Jeffrey Epstein. The Court held that the material in question warranted immediate restraint and ordered its takedown.
Himayani Puri filed a Rs. 10 crore defamation suit seeking a global takedown of posts linking her to American financier and child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. She also requested a John Doe order to identify and act against unknown individuals responsible for circulating the content.
The Court has restrained the publication and circulation of allegedly defamatory content targeting Himayani Puri. The Court observed that a prima facie case had been established, the balance of convenience lay in favour of the plaintiff, and irreparable harm would result if the content remained online. Accordingly, the Court directed that the defendants must immediately stop publishing or sharing the disputed material on any platform.
Takedown Limited to Indian Jurisdiction
Justice Mini Pushkarna directed social media platforms, including Twitter, Google, YouTube, Meta, and LinkedIn, to remove the content. However, the Court clarified that the order would apply only within India for now.
The judge noted that the issue of a global takedown is currently pending before a Division Bench. Accordingly, the present directions are restricted to content accessible within India or originating from Indian IP addresses. Platforms were also directed to block access in India to content hosted abroad.
“Considering that the matter regarding injunction at global level is subject matter of Division Bench, orders in that regard may not be passed. It is directed that the directions passed today are to be followed within India jurisdiction, Indian domain. The present injunction order operates within Indian domain wrt videos and content uploaded within Indian jurisdiction and from IP addresses within India. Insofar as URLs and links uploaded from outside India, defendants are directed to block access from being viewed in India,” Justice Pushkarna ordered.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on August 7.