‘Take down posts slamming scribe for interview with Manu Bhaker’, Delhi HC tells social media handles

PTI, Sep 2, 2024, 8:16 PM IST

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday directed several social media users to take down their posts criticising journalist Rohan Dua over his interview with Olympian and India’s shooting star Manu Bhaker calling it “sexist”.

Justice Navin Chawla ordered the social media handles to delete the posts within a week.

The court said if the handles fail to take down the posts, social media intermediaries should block the content.

The court’s interim order came after the journalist’s lawyers gave an affidavit stating that Bhaker had liked Dua’s interview, proving that she took no offence to the questions he posed to her.

The affidavit followed a direction from the court to the journalist’s lawyers to produce details to show that the shooter has no issues with the interview.

The court was informed that the interview was approved by Bhaker’s team as well.

Dua interviewed Bhaker after she won two bronze medals at the Paris Olympics this year.

A clip of the interview went viral on social media where Dua was seen asking Bhaker about her and her mother’s photos with fellow Olympian Neeraj Chopra.

After the interview, several social media handles also posted the video terming the question as “sexist” and the interviewer “unprofessional”.

In his defamation plea, Dua has argued that these statements not only attack his professional competence, but also spread a false narrative that he was being sexist and inappropriate, overshadowing Bhaker’s achievements.