Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and Senior Advocate Gaurav Bhatia has approached the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of allegedly defamatory social media posts following his appearance on a News18 show, which went viral.

Justice Amit Bansal heard the matter on Tuesday and said the Court will review the material and pass orders on Thursday. The Court clarified that while it may restrain defamatory content regarding Bhatia’s private parts, satirical or sarcastic commentary related to the incident will not be restricted.

During the news show, journalist Amish Devgan introduced Bhatia, who appeared in a kurta allegedly without pants or pyjama. Advocate Raghav Awasthi, representing Bhatia, clarified that he was wearing shorts, and the cameraman mistakenly showed the lower half of his body.

Bhatia argued that social media posts about the incident violate his privacy, and objectionable content must be removed. His suit seeks removal of posts by the Samajwadi Party media cell, Newslaundry, politicians like AAP’s Saurabh Bharadwaj and Congress’ Ragini Nayak, and journalists including Abhisar Sharma.

Appearing in person, Bhatia emphasized, “I stand before you because reputation is earned over decades,” urging that derogatory words like “nanga” (nude) should not be used in reference to him.

Justice Bansal noted that, as a political figure, Bhatia should be “thick-skinned.” Advocate Mamta Rani Jha, representing Google, highlighted that some links sought to be taken down are unrelated to the incident, including posts by news publications.

The Court cautioned about the careful issuance of ex parte injunctions, referencing Supreme Court guidance. “We have to be very careful. The Supreme Court has said that you should not pass ex parte orders in such cases,” Justice Bansal remarked.