On Friday, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shazia Ilmi filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court against journalist Rajdeep Sardesai, following his video upload that accused her of abusing an India Today video journalist, according to Bar and Bench.
The controversy stems from an incident on July 26 during a debate on the Agnipath scheme on India Today, where Ilmi abruptly left, claiming that Sardesai had deliberately cut off her microphone to censor her participation.
In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on the same day, Ilmi addressed Sardesai, saying, “Remember, I have been on both sides and know how to handle bullies like you. It doesn’t behove political propagandists masquerading as journalists to sermonise.”
Ilmi also alleged that despite her evident physical and emotional distress, the cameraperson continued to film her after the debate ended.
In response, Sardesai uploaded a video on X on July 27, showing Ilmi removing her mic and expressing anger at the India Today cameraperson for allegedly continuing to record her. The footage also captured Ilmi asking the video journalist to leave her house.
Sardesai shared the video, denying Ilmi’s claim that she had been muted during the debate, stating, “If anything, I am too indulgent: the fader is lowered only to avoid crosstalk and noise on the show. If you have a grouse with me or with an army general on the show, of course that’s your prerogative. And I respect that too. But for you to chuck the mic and abuse our video journalist and throw him out of your house is just NOT done.”
He added that the cameraperson was merely doing his job, and there is no excuse for “bad behaviour.”
On Friday, Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora of the Delhi High Court directed Sardesai and India Today to submit the complete, unedited video by Monday, scheduling the next hearing for Tuesday.
Advocate Natasha Garg, representing Ilmi, informed the court that the video remains online, leading to derogatory comments and trolling directed at Ilmi. She requested the court to order Sardesai to make his tweets private until the matter is resolved. The court, however, declined to issue such an order and listed the case for August 13.
