Journalist Rajdeep Sardesai was granted ₹5 lakh compensation by the Delhi High Court on September 3, 2025, in a defamation suit filed in 2020 by the TV Today Network Ltd over certain defamatory remarks made by a social media user against him. The defendant, named Anurag Srivastava, had posted certain defamatory comments on Twitter (now 𝕏) about Sardesai on August 8, 2020, after Sardesai’s exclusive interview with actress Rhea Chakraborty, who was an accused in a case relating to the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.
The interview was aired on the plaintiff’s news channels, India Today and Aaj Tak.
The defendant posted certain defamatory tweets against Sardeai
Criticising Sardesai, Srivastava had written on X, “When Rajdeep Sardesai was born, the nurse said …Badhai ho… Apko dalla hua…” The plaintiff had also objected to some earlier posts made by Srivastava. On June 7, 2020, the defendant had uploaded a video on X, accompanied by a comment alleging that Rajdeep Sardesai was involved in spreading fake news. In another post, the defendant had compared Sardesai with fugitive radical Islamic preacher Zakir Naik. “There is no difference between Rajdeep Sardesai and Zakir Naik #ShameOnAajTak”, the defendant posted on X on August 26, 2020. And lastly, a comment posted by the defendant on X on September 9, 2020, saying, “Rhea Chakraborty allegedly gave Rs. 8 crores to Rajdeep Sirdesai and India Today for her interview. RIP 4th Pillar of Democracy”, was also the subject of the defamation suit.
The TV Today Network claimed that their reputation was affected and their total income declined following the defendant’s defamatory remarks. In the defamation suit, the plaintiff demanded compensation of ₹ 2,00,00,100. The defendant had removed the defamatory posts from his social media profile in compliance with a court order and assured the court not to re-post them.
Holding that the comments made by the defendant were highly defamatory, Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav ruled the suit in favour of the plaintiff with compensation. “Having considered the overall facts and circumstances, the Court finds that the objectionable tweets were highly defamatory and remain unsubstantiated by the defendant, despite having been afforded sufficient opportunity to do so,” the High Court said in its judgment.
“Having considered the overall circumstances, this Court deems it just and proper to award ₹5,00,000 as general compensatory damages to the plaintiff, to redress the reputational harm, emotional hardship, and loss of professional credibility caused by the conduct of the defendant,” the court added.
Sardesai faced backlash for interviewing Rhea Chakraborty, who claimed during the interview that late actor Sushant Singh Rajput was suffering from a mental disorder, insinuating that his tragic death had a connection with his poor mental health. Rhea, who was the live-in partner of the deceased actor, was facing a probe at that time in connection with the mysterious death of Rajput. The interview received a negative response from viewers who alleged that Sardesai was trying to whitewash the allegations against Rhea by interviewing with an accused in the case.
