Version imprimableThe Editors Guild of India
Statement on Delhi Court’s Adani Takedown Order
September 17, 2025 | New Delhi: The Editors Guild of India is deeply concerned over the recent order of the Rohini District Court in Adani Enterprises Ltd. vs. Paranjoy Guha Thakurta & Ors., which granted an ex parte “John Doe” injunction restraining nine named journalists and organisations, along with unnamed others, from publishing or circulating allegedly “unverified, unsubstantiated and ex facie defamatory” material about the company. More disturbingly, the order further empowers the corporate entity to keep forwarding URLs and links of any content it considers defamatory to intermediaries or government agencies, who are then obliged to remove such content within 36 hours.
Equally troubling is the subsequent action by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, which has issued notices to platforms including YouTube and Instagram, ordering the removal of more than 138 YouTube links and 83 Instagram posts. This extension of executive power has effectively given a private corporation powers to determine what constitutes defamatory content regarding their affairs, which extends the power to order content takedown.
The Guild is concerned that such blanket powers granted to a corporate entity, coupled with ministerial action in issuing takedown directions, are a step towards censorship. They risk chilling legitimate reporting, commentary, and satire, and undermine the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression.
The Editors Guild urges the judiciary to ensure that defamation claims are addressed through due process, and not through one-sided injunctions that amount to prior restraint. It also calls upon the Government to exercise utmost restraint and avoid acting as an enforcement arm for private litigants in civil disputes.
A free and fearless press is indispensable to democracy. Any system that allows private interests to unilaterally silence critical or uncomfortable voices poses a serious risk to the public’s right to know.
Sincerely,
Anant Nath, President
Ruben Banerjee, General Secretary
K Ve Prasad, Treasurer
