Delhi court issues new summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018 defamation case
A Delhi magistrate ordered fresh summons to be served on Dhruv Rathee at his Gurugram address in a defamation suit stemming from a 2018 video about the BJP IT cell.
Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket court issued an order on October 12 directing that fresh summons be served to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee at his Gurugram address, after earlier attempts since July 2019 proved unsuccessful. The summons relates to a defamation case filed by Vikas Sankrityayan, popularly known as Vikas Pandey, who alleges that Rathee's 2018 video accused members of the BJP's IT cell of attempting to bribe him to launch a smear campaign.
The court permitted Pandey to accompany the process server during delivery and instructed him to pay the prescribed fee within two days. Rathee, who had been detained briefly in Gurugram on October 10 during protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, was released early on October 11. The matter is slated for further proceedings on October 17, 2026.
Why it matters
The case highlights ongoing legal battles over political defamation and the challenges of serving court notices to high-profile online personalities.
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