A week in jail, journalist Ravi Nair gets bail in Adani case
He is likely to walk out of jail Friday, Gandhinagar court's order came a day after Gujarat High Court declined to grant interim relief in his plea against NBW that led to his arrest
Ravi Nair faced charges of defamation and forgery in Ahmedabad following a complaint over a news report and posts on X about the Adani Group. (Photo: X/ enhanced by Gemini AI)
A week after he was sent to judicial custody in the Adani Group criminal defamation case, journalist Ravi Nair was granted bail by a Gandhinagar court on Thursday, although he is likely to spend another night in jail pending receipt of the order and completion of release formalities.
Nair’s advocate Ronith Joy told The Indian Express that the Principal District and Sessions Court Judge of Gandhinagar granted bail to Nair on Thursday. “He is expected to be released on Friday once the court order reaches the jail authorities and the necessary formalities are completed,” Joy, who argued the bail plea in the court on Thursday, said.
The High Court had also declined Nair’s request for interim release, observing that the matter had already been heard and kept for dictation.
The High Court had also questioned Nair’s challenge to the warrant on the ground that it had already been executed, and noted that he had not informed the court that he had simultaneously moved the Gandhinagar sessions court seeking regular bail.
Nair was taken into custody on September 17 after the Gandhinagar Sessions Court rejected his plea seeking cancellation of the non-bailable warrant issued after he failed to appear personally during a hearing in his appeal against his conviction. On February 10, 2026, a Mansa court in Gandhinagar sentenced him to a simple imprisonment of one year in the criminal defamation suit filed by Adani Enterprises on September 3, 2021 over certain tweets and articles attributed to him. The journalist has challenged his conviction in an appellate court in Gandhinagar, which granted him bail on March 9, 2026 on the condition that he remains present during the hearing of his appeal.
He, however, could not personally remain present at the hearing held on September 3, 2026 due to poor health as he has to travel from his native state Kerala, his lawyers said.
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Appearing for Nair before the High Court on Wednesday, advocate Abhik Chimni argued that the sessions court had erred in issuing the non-bailable warrant without first issuing summons or a bailable warrant. He submitted that Nair had appeared on three of the eight dates fixed in the appeal and had been granted exemption from personal appearance on another date, disputing the sessions court’s observation that Nair had remained absent for six months. Senior advocate Mitesh Amin, appearing for the Adani Group, had opposed Nair’s plea in the High Court and argued that the court should take into account his conduct during the appellate proceedings. Amin submitted that after Nair’s appeal was admitted and his sentence suspended, he had sought permission to lead additional evidence, which the Adani Group alleged had the effect of delaying the appeal.
Even as his regular bail plea was being considered by the Gandhinagar court, Nair also approached the Supreme Court on Thursday seeking release from custody.
Aditi Raja is an Assistant Editor with The Indian Express, stationed in Vadodara, Gujarat, with over 20 years in the field. She has been reporting from the region of Central Gujarat and Narmada district for this newspaper since 2013, which establishes her as a highly Authoritative and Trustworthy source on regional politics, administration, and critical socio-economic and environmental issues.
Expertise:
Core Authority & Specialization: Her reporting is characterized by a comprehensive grasp of the complex factors shaping Central Gujarat, which comprises a vast tribal population, including:
Politics and Administration: In-depth analysis of dynamics within factions of political parties and how it affects the affairs in the region, visits of national leaders making prominent statements, and government policy decisions impacting the population on ground.
Crucial Regional Projects: She consistently reports on the socio-economic and political impact of infrastructure projects in the region, especially the Statue of Unity, the Sardar Sarovar Project on the Narmada River, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail bullet train project as well as the National Highway infrastructure.
Social Justice and Human Rights: Her reporting offers deep coverage of sensitive human-interest topics, including gender, crime, and tribal issues. Her reports cover legal proceedings from various district courts as well as the Gujarat High Court (e.g., the Bilkis Bano case remission, POCSO court orders, Public Interest Litigations), the plight of tribal communities, and broader social conflicts (e.g., Kheda flogging case).
Local Impact & Disaster Reporting: Excels in documenting the immediate impact of events on communities, such as the political and civic fallout of the Vadodara floods, the subsequent public anger, and the long-delayed river redevelopment projects, Harni Boat Tragedy, Air India crash, bringing out a blend of stories from the investigations as well as human emotions.
Special Interest Beat: She tracks incidents concerning Non-Resident Gujaratis (NRIs) including crime and legal battles abroad, issues of illegal immigration and deportations, as well as social events connecting the local Gujarati experience to the global diaspora. ... Read More
