New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has raised concerns over Bollywood actor Richa Chadha. For the unversed, the Fukrey star was accused of sharing unverified allegations against a man accused of misconduct on a Delhi–Mumbai flight.
The court also criticised several media organisations for reporting the claims without verifying the facts or presenting the accused person’s side.
What was the incident that sparked the controversy?
The controversy began on March 11 when a woman journalist posted on X (Twitter), accusing her co-passenger of inappropriate physical behaviour during a flight. In her post, the journalist revealed the man’s identity and shared his photograph along with professional details. The post quickly went viral and drew widespread attention online.
Soon after, some media outlets reported the claims circulating on social media. Richa Chadha also reshared the post and wrote, “Make him famous.” The remark intensified the discussion and amplified the allegations across digital platforms.
However, the accused man strongly denied the claims. He stated that he remained seated during the journey and had fallen asleep shortly before the flight landed. Claiming that the viral posts damaged his reputation, he approached the Delhi High Court with a defamation suit against the journalist, Richa Chadha, and certain media houses that had circulated the accusations.
Delhi HC slams Richa over reputational harm
The case came up for hearing on March 20 before Justice Vikas Mahajan. During the proceedings, the court observed that Chadha’s social media post appeared to endorse unverified allegations and contributed to public backlash against the plaintiff.
Justice Mahajan stated, “The Court is prima facie of the view that endorsement of unverified allegations has inflicted immediate, exponential, and incalculable harm on the plaintiff’s reputation.”
The court also criticised the journalist for sharing identifying details of the accused online before any official inquiry had begun.
Addressing the issue, the judge remarked, “While defendant no. 1 [journalist] has an unhindered right to report a grievance, but using social media to circulate allegations of inappropriate touching and revealing the identity of the plaintiff along with his photograph before a formal investigation even commences, in a prima facie view of this Court, is a severe transgression of the plaintiff’s fundamental right to live with dignity and have fair trial.”
As of now, Richa Chadha has not issued a public statement regarding the court’s observations.