Archive · 10 Oct 2026
Delhi Court Dismisses Parvesh Verma’s Defamation Complaint Against Saurabh Bharadwaj
Parvesh Verma took Saurabh Bharadwaj to court over social media posts.
The posts raised questions about whether Verma had helped officials at a school connected to a case involving a three-year-old child.
Verma said the claims were false and harmful.
A Delhi court decided not to proceed with his defamation complaint.
The judge said the statements were written as questions and did not count as defamation.
The court had earlier told people not to change or delete the posts.
It also told social media companies to keep the related records.
The dismissal ended the complaint before the court formally took it up.
A Delhi court dismissed Parvesh Verma’s criminal defamation complaint against AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj.
The court said the statements attributed to Bharadwaj were framed as questions and did not amount to defamation.
The complaint concerned social media posts suggesting Verma used political influence to favour officials at a school linked to a POCSO case involving a three-year-old child.
Verma said Bharadwaj had published malicious and false claims on X, Instagram and Facebook in May.
The court had ordered the posts not to be altered or deleted and directed X and Meta to preserve related digital data and server logs.
- Who
- Parvesh Verma filed a criminal defamation complaint against AAP leader Saurabh Bharadwaj.
- What
- A Delhi court dismissed the complaint, finding the alleged statements were questions and did not amount to defamation.
- When
- The court dismissed the complaint on Saturday; the article does not specify the date.
- Where
- Rouse Avenue Courts, Delhi.
- Why
- The court said the alleged imputations were framed as questions and did not constitute defamation.
Verma’s Allegation
Court’s Assessment
Whether the posts were defamatory
Verma’s Allegation
Verma said Bharadwaj’s social media statements were malicious, false and full of lies.
Court’s Assessment
The court said the alleged statements were framed as questions and did not amount to defamation.
Claims about political influence
Verma’s Allegation
Verma’s complaint challenged posts suggesting he had used political influence to favour officials at a school linked to a sexual assault case involving a three-year-old child.
Court’s Assessment
The court dismissed the complaint at the stage before cognisance, focusing on whether the alleged statements as presented met the threshold for defamation.
- Complainant
- Parvesh Verma
- Respondent
- Saurabh Bharadwaj
- Court
- Rouse Avenue Courts, Delhi
- Judicial officer
- Additional Chief Judicial Magistrate Neha Mittal
- Decision
- Criminal defamation complaint dismissed before cognisance was taken
- Social platforms cited
- X, Instagram and Facebook
- Data preservation
- X and Meta were directed to preserve relevant digital data and server logs