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Won’t push for further take down of content, Adani Enterprises tells HC

It has also been pointed out that the government issued such orders “on its own accord” since the trial court had issued no such orders of takedown compliance to the government.

2 min readSep 25, 2025 07:39 PM IST

After AEL’s counsel Senior Advocate Anurag Ahluwalia made the proposal, Justice Sachin Datta told the counsels of Newslaundry and Kumar as well as AEL to take instructions and report back Friday.

Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) Thursday proposed before the Delhi High Court that it will not push for further take down of alleged defamatory content of those portals and journalists whose appeals before an appellate court challenging a gag order are pending.

The high court was hearing two pleas — one by Newslaundry Media Pvt Ltd, through its director Manisha Pande, and another by journalist Ravish Kumar — challenging the September 16 order by the Union I&B Ministry directing them to take down alleged defamatory content against AEL. Both informed the Delhi HC that they have appeals challenging the order before a sessions court in Rohini.

After AEL’s counsel Senior Advocate Anurag Ahluwalia made the proposal, Justice Sachin Datta told the counsels of Newslaundry and Kumar as well as AEL to take instructions and report back Friday.

Newslaundry and Kumar pointed out that civil court’s order was ex-parte and that the I&B Ministry’s order directing for compliance with the civil court’s gag order “is nothing short of complete administrative overreach and inherently arbitrary exercise of executive power,” by directing them to take action on the basis of an order passed in a civil dispute between private parties.

It has also been pointed out that the government issued such orders “on its own accord” since the trial court had issued no such orders of takedown compliance to the government. The I&B Ministry issued the order on September 16 after a civil court in Rohini passed an ex parte ad-interim order on September 6 against journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and others, including John Does, that is unknown persons.

According to the pleas, the chilling effect of such governmental overreach extends beyond individual content creators to the entire ecosystem of independent journalism and public discourse in the country.

The Central Government Standing Counsel Amit Tiwari, appearing on behalf of the ministry, submitted that the September 16 government communique is only a communication and not a direction, as is necessitated under rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

Sohini Ghosh

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots. She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh ... Read More

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