The Delhi High Court on Friday reserved its order in a plea by journalist Rajat Sharma against Congress party leaders, seeking to restrain them from making allegations that Sharma used foul language on live television.

Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi High Court reserved the order in Rajat Sharma's plea seeking interim relief, where he has also sought damages for defamation.

Senior Advocate Maninder Singh, representing Rajat Sharma, filed the plea against Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Jairam Ramesh, and Pawan Khera. They alleged that Sharma had used foul language and abused Nayak during a live TV discussion. Singh argued that the discussion took place on June 4, but the Congress leaders began tweeting about it on June 10, falsely attributing expletives to Sharma that were never uttered.

“I do not belong to any political party. I am doing my professional duty. These allegations are patently false and cooked up by them. This is a classic and fit case where it needs to be removed immediately. Till the time it is on social media, the allegations will be repeated I will continue to get abused,” Singh argued.

Several social media handles circulated a video clip from a discussion on India TV, owned by Rajat Sharma, on the day of the Lok Sabha election results. They claimed that Sharma used foul language against Congress spokesperson Ragini Nayak.

On June 10, Ragini Nayak posted the video on social media and alleged that in the video, Rajat Sharma can be heard using foul language against her. Subsequently, she filed a police complaint against Sharma.

The following day, on June 11, Rajat Sharma countered by accusing the Congress party's media cell of orchestrating a false campaign against him, claiming he used foul language. He described this as a conspiracy and highlighted that India TV had warned the Congress' communication department that continuing to spread falsehoods would constitute defamation

"On the June 11 broadcast, Rajat Sharma stated that the Congress spokesperson was deliberately sent with the intention to provoke him,"

"He added that despite a warning,

Sharma's counsel subsequently issued a statement on India TV's official platform, cautioning Ragini Nayak and Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh and Pawan Khera against making defamatory allegations towards him.