The Delhi High Court has ordered the removal of defamatory YouTube videos and posts against The News Minute founder Dhanya Rajendran and Digipub News India Foundation.

The articles and videos by media outfits Karma News, Janmabhumi, Janam TV and News India Malayalam alleged that Dhanya Rajendran was an agent of an international entity, billionaire investor George Soros, and routed funds through Digipub.

Digipub is an association of leading digital media outlets in the country. Dhanya Rajendran is the current chairperson.

The articles and videos also had defamatory statements about Cutting South, an event organised by the Kerala Media Academy, with sessions coordinated by The News Minute, Newslaundry and Confluence Media in March last year. 

Media outfits Karma News and Janam TV as well as the newspaper Janmabhumi had accused the event of a separatist agenda.  

But the high court observed that the videos and posts prima facie contained defamatory allegations that were made in a reckless manner without any regard to the truth.

The court was hearing a defamation suit filed by Dhanya Rajendran and Digipub, which sought Rs 2 crore in damages, a mandatory injunction, and an apology from Karma News.

In 2023, Newslaundry and Confluence Media had also approached the Delhi High Court saying that the name “Cutting South 2023” does not imply an intention to divide but is coined from “Cutting Chai”, which comes from the phrase “cutting edge” and also implies a tea with added flavours aimed at conveying a sense of nostalgia, familiarity, truth and comfort.

Karma News later claimed that it was not the only platform with such coverage and the same had been reported by Janmabhumi. The outfit subsequently said it will not repeat the allegations until further orders till the next date of hearing.