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Journalist Ravi Nair Gets Bail in Adani Defamation Case
Journalist Ravi Nair was involved in a court case brought by Adani Enterprises.
The company said some of his posts and articles were false and harmed its reputation.
A lower court convicted him and sentenced him to one year in prison.
Nair appealed the conviction and was earlier granted bail.
He missed a hearing because his lawyers said he was unwell and had to travel from Kerala.
The court then issued a non-bailable warrant and sent him to jail.
The Gujarat High Court did not temporarily stop the warrant.
A sessions court later granted Nair bail, but the defamation case and his appeal remain connected to the court proceedings.
A Gandhinagar sessions court granted journalist Ravi Nair bail on September 24, a week after his arrest.
Nair was arrested after failing to appear personally at a September 3 hearing in his appeal against conviction.
The court had issued a non-bailable warrant after rejecting his request for exemption from personal appearance.
Nair was sentenced to one year in prison on February 10, 2026, over posts and articles concerning Adani Enterprises.
The Gujarat High Court refused interim relief on September 23 while questioning why Nair’s lawyers had not disclosed the sessions-court bail plea.
- Who
- Journalist Ravi Nair and Adani Enterprises are the principal parties; the bail order was issued by Principal District and Sessions Judge Ashish J S Malhotra.
- What
- A Gandhinagar sessions court granted Nair bail after he was arrested for failing to appear personally at a hearing in his defamation-case appeal.
- Where
- The proceedings took place in courts in Gandhinagar and Mansa, Gujarat, with related proceedings in the Gujarat High Court.
- When
- Bail was granted on September 24, following Nair’s arrest on September 17; the conviction was issued on February 10, 2026.
- Why
- Nair was arrested after the court issued a non-bailable warrant over his non-appearance; Adani Enterprises’ underlying complaint concerns posts and articles it alleged were defamatory.
Adani Enterprises’ Allegations
Ravi Nair’s Position
Nature of the posts
Adani Enterprises’ Allegations
Adani Enterprises alleged that Nair published and disseminated false, defamatory statements intended to damage the company’s reputation and undermine public and investor confidence.
Ravi Nair’s Position
The reported accounts describe the material as posts and articles about allegations by Hindenburg Research and a strike concerning the proposed privatisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust; Nair challenged his conviction.
Failure to attend the hearing
Adani Enterprises’ Allegations
The appellate court required Nair to remain personally present and issued a non-bailable warrant after he did not attend the September 3 hearing.
Ravi Nair’s Position
Nair’s lawyers said he could not attend because of poor health and because he had to travel from Kerala, and they sought exemption from personal appearance.
Key facts
- Bail decision
- Principal District and Sessions Judge Ashish J S Malhotra granted Nair bail.
- Arrest
- Nair was taken into custody on September 17 after a non-bailable warrant was issued.
- Conviction
- A Mansa court sentenced Nair to one year in prison on February 10, 2026.
- Original complaint
- Adani Enterprises filed the criminal defamation complaint on September 3, 2021.
- Underlying material
- The case concerns posts and articles, including social-media posts published between October 2020 and July 2021.
- Earlier bail
- An appellate court granted Nair bail on March 9, 2026, subject to his presence at appeal hearings.
- High Court action
- The Gujarat High Court refused interim relief concerning the warrant on September 23.
Quotes
Ronith Joy
Lawyer representing journalist Ravi Nair
“His bail application was moved in the sessions court on Saturday and it was heard on Monday. Today, the court allowed his plea.”
theprint.in
telegraphindia.com
Sources
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