The summons has been physically served at Rathee’s residence in Gurugram, as he is in India to participate in the ongoing protests over alleged electoral fraud. A Delhi court has served fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a criminal defamation case filed in 2018 by a man called Vikas Pandey over a video titled ‘BJP IT Cell Part 2’.
Vikas Pandey, who founded the social media page ‘I Support Narendra Modi’, said the video claimed he had offered Rs 50 lakh to someone to withdraw allegations that the BJP IT Cell spreads fake news. Arvind Kejriwal also faced the case over re-sharing the video.
In an Instagram video posted on Wednesday, Rathee also alleged that plainclothes police in unmarked cars followed him after he left his Gurugram home. The summons came days after Rathee was detained at his Gurugram home to deter him from participating in the CJP protest called at Jantar Mantar. The protest is being held over alleged irregularities in electoral rolls and demands the resignation of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar. Rathee had participated in a CJP protest in Bengaluru two days before his detention. Delhi Police have not responded to the allegation.
Sharma said fresh summons were needed so that prompt steps for service could be taken. Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket District Court passed the order on October 12. The matter will next be heard on October 17. Around 50 police personnel arrived at his residence in Sector 56 and detained him on October 10. He claimed that the police were tracking his movements and threatening to detain him again if he approached the protest site, ahead of another planned demonstration against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar on October 16.
Advocate Samaksh Sharma, appearing for Pandey, told the court that Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria and had come to India for the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) protests in Delhi. Delhi Police said the action was preventive, citing the lack of permission for the protest in Delhi.
