The Delhi High Court, today, withheld its decision regarding a petition filed by Bloomberg Television Production Services India Private Limited, challenging the Saket district court’s directive to remove an article titled “India Regulator Uncovers USD 241 Million Accounting Issue at Zee,” published on February 21, from its website.
After hearing extensive arguments from both parties, Justice Shalinder Kaur opted to reserve the order.
The article alleged that the Securities & Exchange Board of India (SEBI) had identified a discrepancy of over USD 240 million in the accounts of Zee Entertainment Enterprises Ltd.
On March 1, the Saket Court determined that Zee, the plaintiff, had presented a prima facie case warranting interim ex-parte injunctions. The court found the balance of convenience favored Zee over Bloomberg and that failure to grant the injunction could result in irreparable harm to Zee.
Consequently, Bloomberg and its journalists were instructed to remove the article from their online platform within one week of receiving the order. They were also prohibited from disseminating or publishing the article, in any form, regarding Zee, until the next hearing.
Representing ZEE, Advocate Vijay Aggarwal, along with Naman Joshi and Guneet Sidhu, argued that the article was “entirely false and inaccurate.” Aggarwal asserted that the defamatory nature of the article was intended to tarnish ZEEL’s reputation deliberately and maliciously.
Responding to a query, Aggarwal clarified that the defense of truth was not applicable, as SEBI had not issued any findings against ZEEL.