Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Social Media Posts Linking Hardeep Puri's Daughter to Jeffrey Epstein
Court Directs Removal of Defamatory Content
On Tuesday, the Delhi High Court mandated the removal of social media posts associating Hardeep Singh Puri's daughter with convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein within 24 hours. Justice Mini Pushkarna issued a directive preventing multiple users from publishing, broadcasting, or disseminating such content on social media platforms. During the hearing of the lawsuit filed by Himayani Puri, the judge emphasized that if users fail to delete the posts, the platforms would be required to remove the content or block access to it. The court determined that a prima facie case exists in favor of Himayani Puri, and without interim relief, she would suffer irreparable harm. Consequently, the court issued the following instructions until the next hearing date, which is scheduled for August.
Details of the Epstein Case
The Epstein files consist of thousands of pages of documents related to two criminal investigations into sex trafficking involving Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. These files include travel logs, recordings, and emails that have been a topic of discussion since Epstein's death in custody in 2019. The lawsuit states that defendants numbered 1 to 14, along with several unidentified individuals, have strategically spread these unfounded allegations through sensational and misleading formats, including edited videos, deceptive captions, and manipulated thumbnails, aiming to incite public outrage, go viral digitally, and ultimately damage the plaintiff's reputation. The petition further claims that there is a deliberate and orchestrated effort to tarnish Puri's reputation both in India and globally.
Impact on Hardeep Singh Puri's Family
The petition highlights that Hardeep Singh Puri is a senior member of the Union Cabinet, which is why his daughter, a highly skilled and self-sufficient professional, is being targeted with such malicious attacks.