Court slams Richa Chadha for 'publicly shaming' man in flight
What's the story
The Delhi High Court has criticized actor Richa Chadha for "publicly shaming" a man accused of sexual misconduct on a flight and endorsing unverified allegations against him. The court said that public figures like Chadha carry a legal and moral responsibility to verify facts before using their platforms to amplify serious allegations. The comments were made during the hearing of a defamation suit filed by the accused against Chadha, the woman who made the allegations, and certain media platforms.
Court's observation
Chadha has 'legal, moral responsibility to verify facts'
Justice Vikas Mahajan, in his March 20 order released on Tuesday, said, "A public figure, such as defendant no. 7 (Chadha), bears a legal and moral responsibility to verify the veracity of facts before leveraging her platform to amplify grave accusations." "The Court is prima facie of the view that endorsement of unverified allegations has inflicted immediate, exponential, and incalculable harm on the plaintiff's reputation."
Controversial tweet
Allegations were made by a freelance journalist
The controversy began on March 11 when a freelance journalist accused the man of inappropriate physical conduct during a flight. After landing, she shared the allegations on X (formerly Twitter), disclosing his name, photograph, and professional details. Chadha then retweeted the allegations with the comment "Make him famous."
Legal proceedings
Accused claimed there was prior communication between woman, Chadha
In his suit, the accused argued that there was a "reasonable apprehension of prior communication, coordination, or influence" between the woman and Chadha. He noted that Chadha reposted the woman's tweet at 11:50pm, while the FIR against him was registered later at 12:27pm. Senior advocate Shyel Trehan and advocate Rohan Poddar represented him in court.
Legal outcome
Court ordered woman, media platforms to 'remove content'
The court ordered the woman and other media platforms to remove the content and barred them from posting similar content in the future. It also took note of Chadha's lawyer, Madhav Khurana's submission that she had deleted the post and said it expected her not to precipitate or aggravate such issues in the future.
Public disclosure
Court says woman tried to sensationalize issue
The court claimed the woman tried to "sensationalize the issue." "While defendant no. 1 has an unhindered right to report a grievance..." "But using social media to circulate allegations of inappropriate touching and revealing the identity of the plaintiff along with his photograph before a formal investigation even commences, in a prima facie view of this Court, is a severe transgression of the plaintiff's fundamental right to live with dignity and have fair trial."