The District Court of Faridabad has issued a summons to Sandeep Maheshwari, YouTuber and motivational speaker, in connection with a criminal defamation case filed by Dr. Vivek Bindra, author and owner of Bada Business. In his complaint, Bindra accused Maheshwari of making and publishing certain defamatory videos and community posts on YouTube channel against him. The court in its order directed Sandeep Maheshwari to appear on April 2.
According to reports, the Court in its recent order stated that the content shared by Maheshwari on YouTube prima facie appears to have dented the image of Bindra, the complainant in the case. The court also recorded that the videos and the community posts had lowered the image of Vivek Bindra in the eyes of the public. Consequently, the court was of the view that the elements of Section 499 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), regarding defamation, have been satisfied.
While issuing the summons to Maheshwari, the court observed that the videos draw expensive conclusions based on inadequate evidence. “The accused No.1 has put the listener to choose between two options namely the ‘Public Or Vivek Bindra’. Even a layman, who has no knowledge about the controversy, would undisputedly choose ‘the public’,” reads the order.
The issuance of the summons marks a significant development in the case as earlier in February, the court had declined Bindra’s appeal to remove the videos. “It was thus the complainant’s case that the accused Mr. Sandeep Maheshwari had ill intentions and ulterior motive to lower the morale and reputation of the complainant in the eyes of the general public had made defamatory imputations which were published on his YouTube channel,” reads the order.
The legal conflict stemmed from a video published by Maheshwari on December 11, 2023, sparking a series of posts and videos exchanged between the two parties. Subsequently, on December 19, 2023, Bindra lodged a civil suit in Faridabad.
