The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed journalist Rajdeep Sardesai and India Today to take down a video the anchor had uploaded to social media showing Bharatiya Janata Party leader Shazia Ilmi allegedly abusing the channel’s video journalist, Bar and Bench reported.
The order was passed by Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora after Ilmi filed a defamation suit against Sardesai on Friday.
During the hearing on Friday, the court had ordered Sardesai and the channel to place the full unedited video on record.
After watching the video on Tuesday, the court said that it had been recorded by the channel’s cameraperson after Ilmi withdrew herself from the television show on July 26, Bar and Bench reported.
The bench directed the video to be removed from social media until the matter was adjudicated after Sardesai’s counsel sought an adjournment in the matter, Live Law reported.
The incident occurred on July 26 when Ilmi was participating in a debate on India Today. However, she left the debate midway after claiming that her mic was cut off by Sardesai with an intent to censor her.
In a social media post, Ilmi alleged that the cameraperson continued to film her after she had left the show despite her physical and emotional discomfort.
In response, Sardesai uploaded a video on social media on July 27, denying Ilmi’s allegations that she was muted during the debate. The video showed Ilmi removing her mic, getting angry at the cameraperson for recording her and asking the video journalist to leave her house.
The journalist said that his channel’s cameraperson was only doing his job and there is no excuse for “bad behaviour”.
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