The Delhi High Court is set to address a defamation suit brought forth by Indian-American businessman Gaurav Srivastava against India Today.

The suit seeks to bar the publication, circulation, republishing, or transmission of any false or defamatory remarks regarding Srivastava.

This matter will be presented before Justice Pratibha M Singh's bench.

The plea stated, ‘That by making and disseminating patently false statements & imputations, against the plaintiff, the Defendants have caused severe damage to the reputation of the Plaintiff’. 

Srivastava, represented by Advocate Abhishek Singh, is seeking damages for the tarnishing of his image and reputation. He has also requested India Today to reveal the identities of the organizations or individuals responsible for the defamatory content. Additionally, Srivastava is seeking the removal of all defamatory material and the issuance of an unconditional apology.

The article titled "Joe Biden's Campaign Freezes Donations from Indian-American Businessman" alleged that Joe Biden's re-election campaign and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee had halted donations from Gaurav Srivastava, an Indian-American businessman. This action was reportedly taken due to concerns regarding Srivastava's false claims of CIA association and his questionable business practices.

Furthermore, the article highlighted that the Atlantic Council cut off its association with Srivastava after being unable to confirm his background. Despite making several political contributions, Srivastava falsely asserted his affiliation with AECOM and subsequently promoted himself as the chairman of Unity Resource Group. Consequently, several Democratic politicians have opted to redirect his donations to local charitable organizations.

According to Srivastava's plea, India Today allegedly began circulating false articles accusing him of wrongdoing and branding him a 'conman' without proper verification, purportedly for personal gain. Srivastava became aware of these defamatory publications in May 2024 through information provided by friends, family, and business associates.

Feeling shocked by the misinformation, Srivastava served a legal notice on May 20, 2024, demanding that India Today cease publishing defamatory material, remove existing defamatory content, disclose the sources behind the publications, and issue an unconditional apology. Additionally, he sought Rs. 5 Crores in damages. However, despite receiving the legal notice, India Today neither complied nor responded.

The plea further alleged that India Today's actions were carried out with malicious intent to tarnish Srivastava's reputation and cause him harm in society. Moreover, it claimed that India Today failed to verify the contents of the articles before publishing them, presumably to boost mainstream revenues and viewership.

Furthermore, the plea asserted that India Today continued to publish false articles alleging Srivastava's involvement in scams without any evidence, resulting in severe damage to his reputation.

Consequently, Srivastava is seeking a mandatory and permanent injunction against India Today, as well as against other entities such as The Tribune, The Times of UP, UP18News, Start Up Club, CEO Club, Start Up Insider, various Tumbler blogs, Bharat 18, YouTube, Google, Meta, and X.

Advocates for Petitioner: Advocates Bharat Arora, Abhishek Singh and Gourav Arora

Case Title: Gaurav Srivastava v India Today and Ors