Story perspectives

Delhi Court Orders Personal Summons for Dhruv Rathee

By Drooid · Oct 14, 2026, 6:01 PM UTC · How we work

Summary

Story summary

Delhi court issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a criminal defamation case.
The court ordered personal service at Rathee’s Gurugram address on October 12, 2026.
Vikas Pandey, founder of ‘I Support Narendra Modi,’ filed the defamation complaint in 2018.
Rathee’s video ‘BJP IT Cell Part 2’ alleged Pandey offered Rs 50 lakh to Mahavir Prasad.
The court permitted a dasti summons, letting the complainant accompany the process server.

History

Historical Context

In November 2012 Shreya Singhal filed a PIL challenging Section 66A of the IT Act, which allowed up to three years’ imprisonment for offensive online messages. On 24 March 2015 the Supreme Court struck down the provision, reading down Section 79 and establishing a precedent cited by the Delhi High Court. The summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee shows courts continuing to apply that 2015 framework to defamation disputes.

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Story summary

Delhi court issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a criminal defamation case.
The court ordered personal service at Rathee’s Gurugram address on October 12, 2026.
Vikas Pandey, founder of ‘I Support Narendra Modi,’ filed the defamation complaint in 2018.
Rathee’s video ‘BJP IT Cell Part 2’ alleged Pandey offered Rs 50 lakh to Mahavir Prasad.
The court permitted a dasti summons, letting the complainant accompany the process server.

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