Disposed

Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar v. Rahul Gandhi and Ors.

Delhi HC24 Jan 2024W.P.(C)/8210/2021

Case brief

AI extract

What is this about?

This PIL petition sought directions for legal action against Rahul Gandhi, FIR registration by police, and removal of a tweet by Twitter. The Court disposed of the matter noting the tweet was voluntarily deleted by the petitioner, thus satisfying the prayers.

What did the court decide?

No fresh relief granted; the writ petition was disposed of as the prayers stood satisfied due to the voluntary deletion of the tweet by the petitioner.

Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar Vs Rahul Gandhi and… — Pension and Retirement Benefits | Delhi HC (2024)

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$~17

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* IN THE HIGH COURT OF DELHI AT NEW DELHI

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W.P.(C) 8210/2021

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MAKARAND SURESH MHADLEKAR ..... Petitioner Through: Mr. Mahesh Jethmalani, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Pavan Narang, Mr. Neeraj, Mr. Ravi Sharma, Mr. Prem T.Mishra, Mr. Anjani Kumar Rai, Mr. Siddharth Handa, Mr. Himanshu Sethi and Ms. Aishwarya Chhabra, Advocates. Mr. Umesh Sharma and Mr. Sumeet Chaudhry, Advocates. versus RAHUL GANDHI AND ORS ..... Respondents Through: Ms. Tarannum Cheema, Mr. Akshay N., Mr. Akash Singh and Mr. Kuber Boddh, Advocates for R-1. Ms. Swarupama Chaturvedi, Sr. Advocate with Mr. Abhaid Parikh, Mr. Kartik Rathi, Mr. Aayush Shivam and Mr. Tanishq Tyagi, Advocates for R-2/NCPCR Mr. Santosh Kumar Tripathi, SC, GNCTD with Mr. Arun Panwar, Mr. Pradyumn Rao, Mr. Utkarsh Singh, Mr. Kartik Sharma, Ms. Prashansa Sharma, Mr. Rishabh Srivastava and Ms. Nikita Vir, Advocates for GNCTD. Ms. Shloka Narayanan and Mr. Abhishek Kumar, Advocates for R-4, X. Corp. Mr. Mehmood Pracha, Mr. Harshit S. Gahlot, Mr. Jatin Bhatt and Mr. Mohd. Shameem, Advocates.

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/06/2024 at 15:19:26

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CORAM: HON'BLE THE ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE HON'BLE MS. JUSTICE MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA O R D E R

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% 24.01.2024

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Present public interest litigation has been filed with the following

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prayers:-

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“i. Issue an appropriate Writ, Order or direction, directing Respondent No. 2, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) to take necessary legal action against Respondent No. 1 Rahul Gandhi for his Tweet.

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ii. Issue an appropriate Writ, Order or direction, directing Respondent No. 3 Commissioner of Police, Delhi Police to register an F.I.R. against the Respondent No. 1 Rahul Gandhi under section 23 (4) of the POCSO Act, 2012 and section 74(3) of the Juvenile Justice (Care and Protection of Children) Act, 2015.

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iii. Issue an appropriate Writ, Order or direction, directing Respondent No. 4 Twitter Inc. to remove the post of Respondent No. 1 from their social media platform. iv. Pass any other order(s) as this Hon'ble Court may deem fit in the interest of justice.”

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Learned counsel for Respondent No. 1 states that the impugned tweet has now been voluntarily taken down by Respondent No.1. She states that the impugned tweet cannot be viewed either in India or abroad. Learned counsel for Respondent No. 4, X CORP. confirms the fact that Respondent No. 1 has deleted the impugned tweet. The said fact is taken on record. In view of the aforesaid development, prayer (iii) stands satisfied.

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Mr. Abhaid Parikh, Advocate has entered appearance on behalf of Respondent No. 2, NCPCR. He states that he has filed his Vakalatnama vide Diary No. E-158636/2024. Learned senior counsel for NCPCR has handed over a photocopy of the affidavit dated 22^nd January, 2024 along with documents in a sealed cover.

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/06/2024 at 15:19:26

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Mr. Santosh Kumar Tripathi, learned standing counsel for GNCTD and Delhi Police has today handed over a status report dated 24^th January, 2024 in sealed cover. The relevant portion of the said status report is reproduced hereinbelow: -

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“........FIR No. 261/21 dated 02.08.2021 u/s 302/376D/506/342/201/34 IPC, 6 POCSO & 3 SC/ST Act PS Delhi Cantt is pending trial and the charges are yet to be framed by the Hon’ble Court of Ms. Chhavi Kapoor, Ld. ASJ (POCSO) Patiala House, New Delhi. NDOH is 13.02.2024.

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Further investigation of the case FIR No. 240/2021 dated 9.9.2021u/s 228A IPC, 23(4) POCSO, 74 JJ Act is under progress.”

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At page ‘8’ of the aforesaid status report, a copy of the FIR No. 240/2021 dated 9^th September, 2021 has been annexed. From the said FIR, it is apparent that the same has been registered after filing of the writ petition at the instance of the Registrar, National Commission for Protection of Child Rights, New Delhi vide complaint dated 4^th August, 2021.

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Keeping in view the aforesaid facts, this Court is of the opinion that all the prayers in the present writ petition stand satisfied. Accordingly, the present writ petition stands disposed of.

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The documents handed over by NCPCR along with the status report filed by the Delhi Police are directed to be re-sealed and the Deputy Registrar (Appellate) is directed to keep the same in his safe custody.

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ACTING CHIEF JUSTICE

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MANMEET PRITAM SINGH ARORA, J

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JANUARY 24, 2024/ rhc

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This is a digitally signed order.

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The authenticity of the order can be re-verified from Delhi High Court Order Portal by scanning the QR code shown above. The Order is downloaded from the DHC Server on 06/06/2024 at 15:19:26

Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar v. Rahul Gandhi and Ors.

Case brief

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Makarand Suresh Mhadlekar v. Rahul Gandhi and Ors.

Case brief

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