New Delhi: A Delhi court has restrained the Aam Aadmi Party and its leaders, Saurabh Bharadwaj and Ankush Narang, from publishing and circulating any defamatory content against BJP MP Bansuri Swaraj in connection with her detention during the BJP’s ‘Aakrosh March’.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Gurvinder Pal Singh passed the ad interim order on April 23 in response to a civil defamation suit filed by Swaraj.
The BJP MP, in her suit, sought a permanent and mandatory injunction, damages of Rs 10 lakh, and a public apology from AAP and its leaders for sharing a video of her being detained by Delhi Police during the protest.
“Irreparable loss and injury would be caused to plaintiff (Swaraj) if the aforesaid defamatory content is allowed to remain in the public domain. No harm would be caused to defendants (AAP leaders) if the defamatory contents are restrained from remaining in the public domain," the court said.
The court directed the AAP leaders to immediately take down the content from their social media handles till the next date of hearing.
“In view of the foregoing discussions, the defendants are accordingly restrained from continuing to publish, host, upload, circulate, repost or disseminate the defamatory content in the video dated April 19, 2026, and the defamatory content in the press conference dated April 21, 2026, as well as to forthwith take down and remove the same,” the court said.
It further said that if the AAP leaders failed to comply within 48 hours, Swaraj can approach social media intermediaries with the order to remove the content.
“By making defamatory content on the public platform, would not, in any way, infringe on the rights of defendants of freedom of speech and expression which they can, in any case, exercise within the defined parameters,” the court noted.
According to the prosecution, during the BJP’s ‘Aakrosh March’ on April 18, while protesting against the defeat of the Constitution (131st Amendment) Bill, 2026, Swaraj and Union Minister of State Raksha Khadse were detained by Delhi Police when they were marching towards the residence of Leader of Opposition, Rahul Gandhi.
Swaraj alleged that on April 19, AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj shared a video of her detention on his social media account with the caption “Bharatiye Drama Company”.
She said that the video created a false narrative, suggesting that the BJP MP staged her own detention for the cameras, and that it exposed her to ridicule and harmed her public reputation.
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The content was widely shared across various social media platforms and was later reposted by Narang and amplified through a press conference by AAP on April 21.
Ruling in her favour, the court noted that the impugned content, including the video and the statements made during the press conference, was a ‘malicious attack’ on the reputation of the BJP MP.
“The defamatory and libellous content published by the defendant, as detailed in the plaint, constitutes a malicious attack upon the unblemished reputation and good name of the plaintiff with the intention to launch a smear campaign on social media and lower the reputation of the plaintiff in society,” the court said.
The court has listed the matter for May 13 for further hearing on the interim injunction application.
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