The Delhi High Court has temporarily restrained a man, Lavangiri Ansar Basha, from making or uploading any defamatory or abusive content against EdTech platform upGrad, including the use of words like “fraud” and “scam” about the company.

Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed the interim order on July 25, stating that the restraint will remain in effect until the next hearing on August 22.

“Since defendant no. 1 [Basha] has elected not to appear for the hearing today, until the next date of hearing, he is restrained from uploading any social media post or video using the plaintiff’s trademark ‘upGrad’ or making any explicit or abusive remarks against the plaintiff, its management, or its employees,” the Court ordered.

The order comes after Basha posted multiple videos and social media posts accusing upGrad of misleading students and offering substandard educational content. He claimed that due to the abrupt shutdown of a course, more than 700 students were left stranded. Basha also alleged that he paid ₹4 lakh for a program in collaboration with Golden Gate University and invested significant time in securing an F1 visa, only to be let down by the platform’s unfulfilled promises.

upGrad moved the High Court seeking an injunction, stating that despite being served with the lawsuit, Basha continued to post defamatory content—mocking the legal proceedings on LinkedIn.

The Court was also informed that Basha has already approached the District Consumer Forum in Kapda, Andhra Pradesh, where the issue of alleged service deficiency is pending.

Interestingly, upGrad told the Court that it had offered to refund the full course fee to Basha in an effort to resolve the matter amicably, but the offer was declined.

After reviewing the material, the Court held that while commercial disputes may exist, they do not give anyone the right to publish abusive or derogatory content. “The right to fair comment does not include the right to abuse,” Justice Arora observed.

The Court further noted that Basha had used upGrad’s trademark in hashtags alongside words like “scam” and “fraud,” clearly aiming to tarnish the company's reputation.

The matter will be taken up again on August 22.

Senior Advocate Gaurav Pachnanda appeared for upGrad along with advocates Mohit Goel, Sidhant Goel, Deepankar Mishra, Kartikeya Tandon, and Nikita Jaitley from Sim and San.