No HC relief for Bloomberg against order to take down article

A single judge bench of Justice Shalinder Kaur observed Thursday, “A reading of the impugned order suggests that the learned Additional District Judge (ADJ) applied his mind to the facts of this case and satisfied himself that prima facie there was enough material to come to the conclusion for the purpose of granting an ex-parte ad-interim injunction, otherwise the entire purpose of filing the application would have been rendered infructuous”.

“It is clarified that the appellants have to comply with the directions of learned ADJ vide order dated 01.03.2024 within 3 days from today,” the HC directed. On March 1, ADJ, Saket had directed Bloomberg to take down the allegedly defamatory article within a week of its order.

Justice Kaur noted that ADJ being conscious of the provisions of Order 39 Rule 3A of the CPC had listed the matter for hearing on March 26. The HC noted that the district court had considered the “relevant factors” for granting an interim injunction.

“Further, there is no final adjudication on the subject matter of the suit which is at the very threshold. The learned ADJ is yet to hear the Appellants (Bloomberg) and dispose of the interim application,” the HC said, dismissing the appeal.

The HC said Bloomberg “rushed” to the high court “without exploring the option” of filing a reply to Zee’s application on interim relief or filing a plea for modification of the ex-parte ad-interim order. The HC, however, granted parties “liberty to approach” the ADJ for an early hearing.