The Delhi High Court imposed a fine of Rs 25,000 on Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shazia Ilmi for concealing important details in her defamation lawsuit against journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, as reported by Bar and Bench.
Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora observed that Ilmi had omitted two of her social media posts, which were part of her exchange with Sardesai after he shared a video on social media showing Ilmi allegedly abusing an India Today video journalist.
While partly granting Ilmi’s request for interim relief in her suit, Justice Arora upheld a previous ruling instructing Sardesai to remove the video.
The incident took place on July 26 when Shazia Ilmi was present for a debate on a news channel. She abruptly left the debate, claiming that Rajdeep Sardesai had intentionally cut off her microphone to silence her, Scroll.in reported.
Ilmi later posted on social media, accusing the cameraperson of continuing to film her after she had left the show, despite her discomfort, both physically and emotionally.
In response, Rajdeep Sardesai posted a video on social media on July 27, refuting Ilmi’s accusations that her microphone had been muted during the debate.
The video showed Ilmi taking off her mic, becoming upset with the cameraperson for continuing to record her and asking the video journalist to leave her home.
Sardesai remarked that the cameraperson was merely performing his duties and there was no justification for what he referred to as "bad behaviour."
In August, Ilmi filed a defamation lawsuit against Sardesai. Shortly after, the Delhi High Court ordered Sardesai and India Today to remove the video, stating that it had been recorded by the channel’s cameraperson after Ilmi had exited the show. On Friday, the High Court reiterated that the video infringed upon her privacy rights and must be taken down, according to Bar and Bench.
The court also said that Ilmi “must mandatorily disclose the full conversation thread, particularly her own tweets/comments as well and should approach the court with clean hands,” according to a report by Live Law
The bench also rejected Ilmi’s allegations that the India Today journalist had violated her modesty and that Sardesai's video had been doctored, as reported by Bar and Bench.
Additionally, the court ruled that Sardesai’s claim that Ilmi had “chucked the mike” and “thrown” the video journalist out of her home was not substantiated. However, the court found some merit in his accusation that Ilmi had “abused” the journalist.