Delhi Court Orders Bloomberg To Take Down Article Against ZEE

The Delhi Sessions Court on Friday ordered Bloomberg Television to take down the defamatory article published against Zee Entertainment Enterprises (ZEE) on 21 February 2024.

Through a suit filed by ZEE, it argued in the Court that the article published by Bloomberg was false and factually incorrect, with a pre-meditated and malafide intention to defame the Company. The article mentioned the details about the corporate governance and business operations of ZEE, which were inaccurate and led to a 15 per cent drop in the share price of the Company, eroding investor wealth, according to ZEE’s statement. 

ZEE also said that the article by Bloomberg, incorrectly published that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (Sebi) has found a USD 241 million accounting issue at the Company. ZEE refuted the allegations of financial irregularities.

The counsel for ZEE argued before the Judge during a hearing on 28 February 2024 that irreparable loss and injury may be caused to the Company if the injunction as prayed for was not granted. 

Granting relief to ZEE in a hearing conducted on 1 March 2024, Additional District Judge, Harjyot Singh Bhalla pronounced that ZEE has made out a prima facie case for passing ad interim ex-parte orders of injunction. He directed Bloomberg to take down the defamatory article from its platform within one week of receipt of the order, further restraining the platform from posting, circulating or publishing the article on any online or offline platform till the next date of hearing.