Hardeep Puri’s daughter moves Delhi HC, seeks removal of content linking her to Jeffrey Epstein

Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s daughter, Himayani Puri, on Monday moved the Delhi High Court against what she called “false and malicious” news reports and social media posts linking her to convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.

In her plea, Himayani has sought permanent and mandatory injunctions along with damages against several individuals and online platforms for allegedly publishing and circulating defamatory content linking her to the criminal activities of Jeffrey Epstein.

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She claimed that the allegations against her are motivated and targeted because she is the daughter of Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, who himself has found himself embroiled in the same controversy after his e-mail exchanges with Epstein surfaced.

“It is only because Mr. Hardeep Singh Puri is currently a senior member of the Union Cabinet that his daughter, the Plaintiff, who is an exceptionally accomplished and self-reliant professional, is being viciously attacked,” the plea stated.

The development comes after several posts and reports claimed that Himayani maintained direct or indirect business, financial, personal, or other network associations with Jeffrey Epstein. The posts and reports also alleged that the Real Partners LLC, where Puri worked, received funds from Epstein and his associates.

In her plea, Himayani Puri urged the Delhi High Court to direct social media platforms, including X, Google, Meta, and LinkedIn, to take down the “false and defamatory posts”.

Hardeep Puri’s clarification on his Epstein links

Earlier last month, Hardeep Puri had admitted that he and Epstein knew each other and they even met on a few occasions. However, the minister claimed that his interactions had nothing to do with the sex offender’s criminal activities.

“The Epstein Files are about charges that he had an island where he used to take people to indulge their sexual fantasies, charges of paedophilia, there are victims of this. Those victims have brought cases against people in authority. My interaction had nothing to do with that,” Puri said.

Describing the nature of his interaction with Epstein, Puri said, “These facts are known in the public domain. Three million emails have been released. I was in New York for 8 years, from May 2009, when I joined as India’s Ambassador to the UN. In 2017, I became Minister. There are references to possibly three or four meetings in 8 years.”

He stated that he had already sent a note to Rahul Gandhi in November last year clarifying that his meetings with Epstein were only professional.