'Political Criticism Cannot Be Curbed': Court On Raghav Chadha’s Personality Rights Plea

The Delhi High Court on Thursday declined interim relief to BJP MP Raghav Chadha in his personality rights plea, observing orally that criticism, satire and cartoons targeting political figures cannot be restrained merely because they are unpalatable.

Justice Subramonium Prasad said there appeared to be no prima facie violation of personality rights, as the posts cited by Chadha related to criticism of decisions taken in the political arena.

Chadha, a former AAP Rajya Sabha MP who recently joined the BJP, had moved the court against alleged misuse of his image and persona on social media after facing online criticism over the political shift.

The court noted that the line between defamation and criticism was thin and indicated that Chadha could pursue a defamation claim. It also referred to RK Laxman’s political cartoons while underscoring the role of satire in democratic discourse.

Senior Advocate Rajeev Nayar, appearing for Chadha, said the online content falsely suggested that the MP had switched parties for monetary gain. Meta opposed the plea, saying several posts cited were newspaper reports or benign content.

The court reserved orders and allowed Chadha to amend his petition to include defamation.