Delhi Court orders Bloomberg to remove defamatory article against ZEE

The Delhi Sessions Court vide an order pronounced on Friday, March 1, ordered Bloomberg Television Production Services India Pvt. Ltd. (Bloomberg) to take down the defamatory article published against ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) on February 21, 2024.

Through a suit filed by ZEE, it argued in front of the Court that the article published by Bloomberg was false and factually incorrect, with a pre-meditated and malafide intention to defame the Company. The article mentioned details pertaining to the corporate governance and business operations of ZEE, which were inaccurate in nature and led to a 15 per cent drop in share price of the Company, eroding investor wealth.

The article by Bloomberg, incorrectly published that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has found a $241 million accounting issue at the Company; whereas there is no such order from the mentioned regulator. Despite the Company firmly refuting the same, the article incorrectly published financial irregularities in ZEE, without the basis of any order from the regulator.

The counsel for ZEE argued before the Judge during a hearing conducted on February 28, 2024, that irreparable loss and injury may be caused to the Company if the injunction as prayed for was not granted. Granting relief to ZEE in a hearing conducted on March 1, 2024, Additional District Judge, Harjyot Singh Bhalla pronounced that ZEE has made out a prima facie case for passing ad interim ex-parte orders of injunction. He directed Bloomberg to take down the defamatory article from its platform within one week of receipt of the order, further restraining the platform from posting, circulating or publishing the article on any online or offline platform till the next date of hearing.