Court Dismisses Parvesh Verma's Defamation Case Against Saurabh Bharadwaj
A Rouse Avenue court dismissed Parvesh Verma's defamation case against Saurabh Bharadwaj, stating the social media posts were questions, not defamation.
In a significant legal development, a Rouse Avenue court in New Delhi has dismissed the criminal defamation complaint filed by former BJP leader Parvesh Verma against Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Saurabh Bharadwaj. The court declined to take cognisance of the case, effectively ending the legal proceedings at the threshold.
"Posts Were Questions, Not Defamation"
While passing the order, Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate (ACJM) Neha Mittal observed that the imputations made by Bharadwaj were framed as questions rather than defamatory statements. By refusing to take cognisance, the court ensured that no summons would be issued to the accused, preventing a formal trial from commencing.
The Core of the Dispute
The legal battle originated from social media posts made by Saurabh Bharadwaj in May 2026. These posts, shared across platforms including X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, and Facebook, were related to an incident at a private school in West Delhi that was linked to a case under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act.
Verma’s complaint alleged that Bharadwaj’s posts falsely linked him to the school's management and the ongoing investigation. Specifically, Verma claimed that Bharadwaj made several incorrect assertions, including:
- That Verma was assisting an accused person in the case.
- That the school's trust was owned or controlled by Verma.
- That Verma had appointed a specific individual to the trust.
- That Verma was responsible for making certain trust files disappear.
Impact on Reputation
During the proceedings, Verma maintained that neither he nor his family has any connection to the school or the trust in question. He asserted that he had no role in appointing any trust members and denied any association with the individuals mentioned in the posts.
Verma testified that the social media posts caused significant harm to his political and personal reputation. He noted that party workers and friends had sent him the posts via WhatsApp, leading some acquaintances to believe he was involved in the school incident. He emphasized his long-standing political career, having contested elections four times, and stated that Bharadwaj had failed to apologize or contact him even after receiving a legal notice.
Previous Court Directives
This dismissal follows earlier actions by the court in September 2026, when it had restrained Verma and his associates from altering or deleting the social media posts in question. At that time, the court had also directed platforms like Meta and X to preserve the relevant digital logs for investigation.