Delhi Court Issues Fresh Summons To Dhruv Rathee In 2018 Criminal Defamation Case

New Delhi: A Delhi court has issued fresh summons alongside dasti summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in connection with a pending 2018 criminal defamation complaint filed against him. 

Judicial Magistrate First Class Rahul Jain passed the order on October 12, 2026, after recording that previous efforts to serve notice upon Rathee had remained unsuccessful since he was first summoned in July 2019. The court also directed that the fresh process be dispatched to an address in Sector 56, Gurugram, Haryana, where the accused was reported to be residing during his visit to India.

The defamation proceedings were initiated by Vikas Sankrityayan, also known as Vikas Pandey, a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the founder of the social media page 'I Support Narendra Modi'. The complaint centres on a video uploaded by Rathee on his YouTube channel in May 2018, titled "BJP IT Cell Part 2". In the video, Rathee alleged that Pandey functioned as the second-in-command of the BJP IT cell and claimed that an offer of Rs 50 lakh was extended to an individual named Mahavir Prasad to retract allegations regarding the spread of fake news. Pandey alleged that the circulated video contained false and defamatory allegations that harmed his reputation.

During the hearing, Advocate Samaksh Sharma, representing the complainant, moved an application seeking preponement of the matter, which was originally listed for November 20. The counsel informed the magistrate that Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria, where he has been living for the past seven years, causing prolonged delays in the service of court notices. However, the counsel submitted that the YouTuber had recently arrived in India to attend ongoing protests organized by the Cockroach Janata Party, presenting an opportunity for prompt service of summons.

Upon perusal of the record, Judicial Magistrate First Class Rahul Jain observed that the case history clearly reflected continuous attempts by the complainant to serve accused number one since the initial summoning order issued on July 23, 2019. In light of the submissions made regarding Rathee's presence at the Gurugram address, the court allowed the application for fresh summons and granted liberty to issue dasti summons, allowing the complainant to accompany the process server to ensure effective delivery. The court also instructed the court official to process the matter on a daily basis.

The magistrate directed the complainant to file the required process fee within two days of the order. The summons requires the accused to appear before the Saket court in person or through counsel on October 17, 2026, when the matter will next be taken up for further proceedings.

The criminal defamation case also previously involved former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who was named as a co-accused for sharing Rathee's video on social media platform X. Proceedings against Kejriwal were stayed by the Supreme Court in February 2024 after his counsel acknowledged making a mistake by retweeting the video. 

However, the court proceedings against Rathee, as the primary creator of the video content, have continued to move forward at the trial court level.

Case title: Vikas Sankrityayan @ Vikas Pandey v. Dhruv Rathee & Ors (Ct Cases No 5786 of 2018)