Delhi Court Imposes ₹5000 Cost On BJP Leader Suresh Nakhua In Defamation Suit Against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee
A Delhi Court on Thursday (December 4) imposed Rs. 5000 cost on BJP Mumbai spokesperson Suresh Karamshi Nakhua after his counsel sought adjournment to file Vakalatnama in his defamation suit against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
The court was hearing a defamation suit filed by Nakhua alleging that Rathee referred to him as a part of “violent and abusive trolls” in his YouTube video titled “My Reply to Godi Youtubers | Elvish Yadav.” Nakhua has sought Rs. 20 lakhs damages from Rathee for “defamation caused to him on cyber space.” Summons were issued by the court in July last year.
During the hearing advocate Jagdish Trivedi appearing for Nakhua stated that he has been recently engaged and needs time to file the Vakalatnama and inspect the file.
Meanwhile senior advocate Satvik Varma appearing for Rathee submitted that no one had appeared on behalf of the plaintiff on the last date of hearing and the previous counsel of the plaintiff has sent an email dated 03.11.2025 that he has withdrawn from the case.
He further said that the counsel who is appearing on behalf of the plaintiff through VC, has not filed his Vakalatnama on record, therefore, the suit may kindly be dismissed for non-prosecution.
District Judge-South East Pritam Singh in his order said,
"Heard. Record perused. One last and final opportunity is granted to plaintiff subject to cost of Rs.5,000/- to be paid to defendant".
The court further issued fresh court notice to concerned notary public, through all electronic modes. "Steps be taken within a week," the court said.
The court listed the matter on March 11, 2026 for arguments on Rathee's Order 7 Rule 11 application.
For context, during the hearing on August 1 Rathee's counsel had argued that the certificate under Section 63 (Admissibility of electronic records) Bharatiya Sakshya Adhiniyam (BSA) with respect to certain electronic records filed by the plaintiff was dated January 26, 2025 which was a national holiday and bears stamp of Notary without any date which raises apprehension as to the genuineness of the said affidavit.
It was then argued by Rathee's counsel that in the entire period of the pendency of the present matter, repeatedly such defects have been noted in the supporting affidavits filed by the plaintiff in the present suit, and a prayer was made to summon the concerned notary.
Nakhua alleges that in the video in question, Rathee has claimed that Prime Minister Narendra Modi had hosted “violent and abusive trolls like Ankit Jain, Suresh Nakhua, and Tajinder Bagga” at his official residence.
“The video in question has received over 24 million views and more than 2.3 million likes, a number that continues to soar with every passing moment,” the suit states.
It adds that as a result of Rathee's allegedly defamatory statements in the video, Nakhua's reputation has been severely damaged. It adds that the allegedly false accusations made by Rathee have led to widespread condemnation and ridicule of Nakhua, causing irreparable harm to his personal and professional life.
“That the Defendant No.1 is also engaged in committing habitual defamation, giving online threats, deteriorating fellow YouTuber's careeretc. by using his audience which runs in over 23.3 million subscribers on YouTube and over 2.6 million followers on X platform,” the suit reads.
The suit seeks to restrain Rathee from tweeting, posting or creating any content on YouTube or X Corp regarding Nakhua.
Counsel for Plaintiff: Advocate Jagdish Trivedi
Counsel for Defendant: Advocates Nakul Gandhi, Mujeeb, Siddhi Sahoo and Shantanu Parmar
Case title: Suresh Karamshi Nakhua Vs. Dhruv Rathee & Ors.
CS DJ/578/2024