New Delhi [India], May 31 (HBTV): The Delhi High Court has issued summons to YouTuber Ajeet Bharti and another respondent in a civil suit seeking damages of INR 2 crore over allegedly defamatory social media posts.

Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the summons on May 27 in response to a suit filed by TFI Media Private Limited, which also seeks a permanent injunction against the respondents.

The High Court has directed the respondents to file their written statements within 30 days.

TFI Media is seeking compensation for alleged mental agony, economic loss, and reputational injury caused by two posts shared by Bharti on X, formerly Twitter. An application has also been filed seeking a direction to suspend, block, or take down the posts in question.

The petitioner further requested a direction to Ajeet Bharti and platform X to restrain them from sharing or reposting the same content.

Appearing for the petitioner, Advocate Jai Anant Dehadrai sought an ex parte interim injunction to immediately take down Bharti’s posts dated March 22 and 23, 2025, made via his verified handle '@ajeetbharti'.

‘Having considered the nature of the controversy, the Court deems it appropriate to issue notice on this application,’ Justice Kaurav stated, adding that the request for interim relief would be considered once notice is served.

The matter has been listed for further hearing on July 7.

According to the plea, the dispute stems from a public post published on X by TFI’s former employee Anupam K Singh on March 22, 2025, in which he announced the end of his association with the company. Within 30 minutes of that post, Ajeet Bharti reposted it with an allegedly defamatory remark, claiming that the petitioner’s office ‘only does broking work and nothing else’.

The plea further states that TFI contacted Bharti within 24 hours, requesting that he refrain from making further public statements that could damage the company’s reputation. Despite this, Bharti allegedly shared a follow-up post on March 23.

TFI Media, also known as The Frustrated Indian, claimed that Bharti’s post from March 22 had gone viral, garnering over 63,000 views, 1,900 likes, 445 reposts, 27 comments, and 25 bookmarks at the time of filing the suit.

The company asserted that it has a significant online presence and is widely followed, read, and subscribed to.

(ANI)