A court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, has issued notices to journalists Abhisar Sharma and Raju Parulekar, requiring their personal appearance on September 20, 2025, following criminal defamation complaints filed against them by the Adani Group. The Adani Group, a business conglomerate owned by Gautam Adani, has accused Sharma, a YouTuber, and Parulekar, a blogger, of disseminating false and defamatory content with the intention of tarnishing the company's reputation.
The Court of Judicial Magistrate First Class in Adalaj has officially issued the notices, directing both Sharma and Parulekar to appear before it. According to a press release by the Adani Group, the complaints relate to a YouTube video uploaded by Sharma on August 18, 2025, which alleges that thousands of bighas of land in Assam were allotted to Adani, suggesting a pattern of political favors. The complaints against Parulekar pertain to his social media posts since January 2025, which make similar claims of land grabs, scams, and undue benefits.
The Adani Group has dismissed the allegations as "baseless and misleading," asserting that a Gauhati High Court order dated August 12, 2025, cited by the journalists, does not refer to the conglomerate. The company clarified that Mahabal Cement Pvt Ltd, the firm at the center of the High Court case, has no connection with Adani in any manner. The case in the High Court concerned the allocation of 3,000 bighas of land in Assam's Dima Hasao district to Mahabal Cement Private Limited. The High Court questioned the allotment and directed the state government to furnish the policy under which such a large plot of land was given away.
The evidence presented before the court includes Sharma's video and its transcript, Parulekar's social media posts, the Gauhati High Court order, and supporting records. Adani's counsel, Sanjay Thakkar, stated that the notices were issued under Section 223 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), which requires the accused to be heard before an offense is acknowledged. The conglomerate has invoked Sections 356 (1–3) of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), equivalent to IPC Sections 499–501 on defamation. If the cases proceed to trial and the journalists are found guilty, they could face imprisonment of up to two years, fines, or both.
This legal action follows a recent instance where a Delhi court temporarily restrained five journalists and three websites from publishing allegedly defamatory material about Adani Enterprises. The matter pertained to a defamation suit filed by Adani Enterprises, claiming that journalists, activists, and organizations had damaged the company's reputation and cost its stakeholders billions of dollars.
