‘Liking a tweet means republication’: Delhi court orders TV journalist Gargi Rawat to pay Rs 10,000 to Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for liking ‘defamatory’ post
The case pertains to Rawat's act of liking an X post by Dushyant Arora who had supported Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub's criticism of a December 2019 article by Iyer-Mitra titled 'In Rana Ayyub, the White West has found its next Arundhati Roy'.
The court further directed Gargi Rawat to permanently delete or remove the impugned tweet in case it is still showing on the profile or timeline of Rawat on the X platform. (Representational/File photo)
A Delhi court on Monday directed NDTV’s senior journalist Gargi Rawat to pay ₹10,000 to commentator Abhijit Iyer-Mitra for liking a defamatory post which alleged that the latter was accused of rape.
The order was passed by district judge Satyabrata Panda of the Patiala House Court on September 8, while hearing the defamation suit filed by Mitra against Rawat and Dushyant Arora, a lawyer.
“…there is no manner of doubt that the act of the defendant no.2 (Rawat) in “liking” the original defamatory tweet in question amounted to republication and, as a result, the defendant no.2 is liable for the tort of defamation,” the court held.
“Hence, in the overall facts and circumstances of the case, although the online republication and circulation by the defendant no.2 was of a grave false allegation, however, taking into account the mitigating factors as discussed above, I consider it reasonable to grant the plaintiff damages on the lower side which are quantified as ₹10,000 only against the plaintiff’s claim of ₹20 lacs,” said the district judge.
The court further directed Rawat to permanently delete or remove the impugned tweet in case it is still showing on the profile or timeline of Rawat on the X platform.
According to the judge, liking the tweet had made it reflect in Rawat’s own profile, which meant its further circulation.
“As per her own case, the defendant no.2 is a known personality in her field and on the media. Thus, by her action in “liking” the original tweet, the defendant no.2 ensured that the circulation of the original tweet was widened to a larger audience. The action of the defendant no.2 in “liking” the original tweet, leading to its republication was also not a case of a content-neutral reference to the original tweet,” the court said.
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The court observed that by “liking” the tweet, Rawat was showing her appreciation for the tweet.
“Thus, in the present case, the “liking” of the tweet in question was not a case of a mere content-neutral reference to the tweet in question, but was the defendant no.2’s way of showing to the online audience at large her appreciation for the tweet,” it added.
The case pertains to Rawat’s act of liking an X post by Dushyant Arora who had supported Washington Post columnist Rana Ayyub’s criticism of a December 2019 article by Iyer-Mitra titled ‘In Rana Ayyub, the White West has found its next Arundhati Roy’.
Ayyub had called the article a “hitjob”. Replying to Ayyub’s tweet, Dushyant Arora said, “The man has been accused of rape, he routinely engages in hate speech”, and this tweet was liked by Rawat. The matter between Mitra and Arora was settled later when the latter published an apology on his X profile.
Nirbhay Thakur is a Senior Correspondent with The Indian Express who primarily covers district courts in Delhi and has reported on the trials of many high-profile cases since 2023.
Professional Background
Education: Nirbhay is an economics graduate from Delhi University.
Beats: His reporting spans the trial courts, and he occasionally interviews ambassadors and has a keen interest in doing data stories.
Specializations: He has a specific interest in data stories related to courts.
Core Strength: Nirbhay is known for tracking long-running legal sagas and providing meticulous updates on high-profile criminal trials.
Recent notable articles
In 2025, he has written long form articles and two investigations. Along with breaking many court stories, he has also done various exclusive stories.
1) A long form on Surender Koli, accused in the Nithari serial killings of 2006. He was acquitted after spending 2 decades in jail. was a branded man. Deemed the “cannibal" who allegedly lured children to his employer’s house in Noida, murdered them, and “ate their flesh” – his actions cited were cited as evidence of human depravity at its worst. However, the SC acquitted him finding various lapses in the investigation. The Indian Express spoke to his lawyers and traced the 2 decades journey.
2) For decades, the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) has been at the forefront of the Government’s national rankings, placed at No. 2 over the past two years alone. It has also been the crucible of campus activism, its protests often spilling into national debates, its student leaders going on to become the faces and voices of political parties of all hues and thoughts. The Indian Express looked at all court cases spanning over two decades and did an investigation.
3) Investigation on the 700 Delhi riots cases. The Indian Express found that in 17 of 93 acquittals (which amounted to 85% of the decided cases) in Delhi riots cases, courts red-flag ‘fabricated’ evidence and pulled up the police.
Signature Style
Nirbhay’s writing is characterized by its procedural depth. He excels at summarizing 400-page chargesheets and complex court orders into digestible news for the general public.
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