Fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018 defamation case

New Delhi: A Delhi court has issued a fresh summons against YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a 2018 defamation case, noting that he has been living in Austria for the last seven years and has come to India for the protests underway in the national capital.

Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain was hearing the plea filed by BJP IT Cell member Vikas Pandey seeking a fresh summons to Rathee.

In an order dated October 12, the court said, "From the available record, it is clear that the complainant has been trying to serve the accused no. 1 (Rathee) since the last several years..."


Appearing for the complainant, Advocate Samaksh Sharma submitted before the court that Rathee ordinarily resides in Austria and has come to India for the Cockroach Janata Party (CJP) protests in Delhi.

He submitted that issuance of a fresh summons is necessary, so that prompt steps for service can be taken.

The judge noted that Rathee was summoned by the court initially in July 2019.

The court directed that fresh summons be issued to Rathee at his address in Gurugram in Haryana.

The case pertains to a defamation suit filed by the BJP IT cell member Vikas Pandey in 2018 after Rathee uploaded a video on his YouTube channel against him.