A Delhi court issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee at his Gurugram residence in an 8-year-old defamation case filed over a 2018 video.
Published: October 14, 2026, 10:18 PM IST
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Youtuber Dhruv Rathee- File image
New Delhi: In a major legal development, the Saket District Court in Delhi issued fresh summons to popular YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in an eight-year-old criminal defamation case filed by Vikas Pandey over a 2018 video titled “BJP IT Cell Part 2.” Following prolonged attempts to serve notice on Rathee, who ordinarily resides in Austria, the court permitted physical dasti service, leading to the summons being officially served at his Gurugram residenceThe matter is scheduled for its next hearing on October 17, 2026.
The Saket District Court in Delhi has intensified proceedings in an eight-year-old criminal defamation suit filed against digital content creator and YouTuber Dhruv Rathee by issuing fresh summons that were physically served at his Gurugram residenceThe complaint, originally filed by social media activist Vikas Pandey, pertains to allegations that Rathee made defamatory claims against him in a widely circulated video titled “BJP IT Cell Part 2,” published back in 2018.
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Case Proceedings & Legal Snapshot
| Legal Parameter | Case Details |
| Court Jurisdiction | Saket District Court, New Delhi |
| Complainant | Vikas Pandey |
| Respondent / Accused | Dhruv Rathee (YouTuber & Content Creator) |
| Core Allegation | Criminal defamation over 2018 video titled “BJP IT Cell Part 2” |
| Mode of Service | Physical Dasti service completed at Gurugram residence |
| Next Hearing Date | Saturday, October 17, 2026 |
The proceedings against Rathee had remained pending amid unsuccessful attempts to serve him with the summons since 2019, with the complainant claiming that his continued absence from India had stalled the case.
The matter had previously reached the Supreme Court in connection with a retweet of the same video by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind KejriwalIn February 2024, Kejriwal had told the apex court that he had made a mistake by retweeting the videoA bench of Justices Sanjiv Khanna (later CJI and now retired) and Dipankar Datta had granted a stay on the proceedings pending before the trial court while hearing his plea challenging the Delhi High Court’s refusal to quash the summons issued against him.
Earlier, the Delhi High Court had upheld the summoning order, observing that retweeting defamatory content could attract the offence of defamation under Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC)Pandey, founder of the social media page ‘I Support Narendra Modi’, had alleged that the retweet tarnished his reputation.
