Delhi High Court Exempts X Corp From Appearing In Film Producers' Defamation Suit Against Media, Directs Compliance With Future Orders

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (August 4) exempted X Corp from appearing in proceedings pertaining to a 2020 defamation suit filed by 38 film production houses against various media channels and other entities over alleged defamatory reporting.The court passed the order after X Corp undertook to scrupulously comply with directions of the court which maybe passed in the matter. For context, the court was hearing a suit filed in 2020 by 38 production houses and major associations of the Hindi film industry seeking to restrain several news channels, unknown defendants and social media platforms from publishing "irresponsible, derogatory and defamatory remarks against Bollywood members".After hearing the parties for some time, Justice Sachin Datta in his order dictated,"It can be seen that the impugned order finds that the defendant 10 is required to comply with directions which may be issued by the court with regard to the alleged defamatory material. During the course of the hearing, the counsel for the appellant (X Corp) said that he does not take objection to the aforesaid observation in the impugned order. He undertakes that the appellant shall will comply with whatever directions are issued by the court and confines himself only to seeking that he maybe exempted from participating in the proceedings...The said suggestion is acceptable. Accordingly, while not disturbing the impugned order this court grants exemption to applicant/appellant (X Corp) from appearing in further proceedings subject to adherence to undertaking of appellant to scrupulously comply with directions of the court". The court further clarified that if any specific prayer is sought by the plaintiffs' from the appellant/applicant (X Corp) it shall be duly considered in accordance with law.During the hearing, the counsel appearing for X Corp-Defendant no. 10 in the suit, argued that he had moved an application in the defamation suit pending since six years and there had been no interim order, seeking deletion from the array of parties. He said that as of today there was nothing surviving against the intermediary however the Registrar in its May 22 order had rejected the defendant's deletion application. For context, the Registrar in his order had observed X Corp has to comply with certain directions as per Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, adding that the plea for deletion was pre-mature and not maintainable at this stage. The order also noted that till date no directions had been issued to X Corp to take down content nor was it case that it had itself removed content from its platform after being informed of it. Meanwhile appearing for the plaintiffs, advocate Nizam Pasha argued that the matter had been settled with only certain defendants and the defamation suit continues. Opposing X Corp's prayer for deletion, Pasha emphasized that no interim orders had been passed in the suit and thus X Corp was a necessary party. "We are still at a stage where take down orders may be passed," he added.At this stage X Corp's counsel said that if the plaintiffs were opposing X Corp's deletion from the suit, then the intermediary maybe exempted from appearance. The court orally said that X Corp is a proper party to the suit and will have to implement orders passed by the court and asked why it had sought deletion.To this the counsel said that six years had passed and the matter had been settled between the plaintiffs and the major defendants; further the alleged defamatory content in the suit no longer exists as users had deleted it themselves.Meanwhile Pasha argued that plaintiffs had sought a prayer for take down of all similar content which forms part of the suit, adding that there was also a due dilligence obligation imposed on the intermediary.Previously the high court had deleted social media intermediaries Facebook and Google as necessary parties to the suit. The plaintiffs had alleged that the expressions used by the defendants are responsible for irreparably damaging the image of the bollywood industry by painting entire industry as "criminals, seeped in drug culture and making being part of the bollywood industry a criminal act in the eyes of public".Case title: THE FILM AND TELEVISION PRODUCERS GUILD OF INDIA & ORS. v/s ARG OUTLIER MEDIA PVT LTD & ORS.I.A. 20675/2026 O.A. 206/2026 In CS(OS)- 337/2020

Delhi High Court Exempts X Corp From Appearing In Film Producers' Defamation Suit Against Media, Directs Compliance With Future Orders

Malavika Prasad

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Malavika Prasad

Delhi High Court Exempts X Corp From Appearing In Film Producers' Defamation Suit Against Media, Directs Compliance With Future Orders

Malavika Prasad

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INR 1099+GST

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Malavika Prasad

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