Delhi High Court Rules Against Bloomberg In Zee Appeal
Adding to the series of challenges faced by Bloomberg Television Production Services India (Bloomberg), the Delhi High Court has issued an order dismissing Bloomberg's appeal against Zee Entertainment. Upholding the decision of the Sessions Court on 1 March, 2024, the Delhi High Court maintained the injunction against Bloomberg from posting, circulating, or publishing the defamatory article dated 21 February, 2024, targeting Zee Entertainment.
Dismissing Bloomberg’s appeal, Justice Shalinder Kaur stated that, “prima facie there was enough material to come to the conclusion for granting an ex-parte ad-interim injunction, otherwise the entire purpose of filing the application would have been rendered infructuous. I, thus, do not find any ground to interfere with the order impugned herein. Consequently, the appeal along with pending applications, stands dismissed.”
Additionally, the Court instructed the platform to adhere to the directives provided by the Additional District Judge within three days.
In its lawsuit filed in the Delhi Sessions Court, Zee contended that Bloomberg's article published on 21 February, 2024, contained false and factually incorrect information, with a deliberate and malicious intent to tarnish the Company's reputation. The article, which included details about Zee's corporate governance and business operations, was deemed inaccurate and resulted in a 15 per cent decline in the company's share price, causing substantial losses for investors.
On 1 March, 2024, the Sessions Court issued a temporary ex-parte order directing Bloomberg to remove the defamatory article from its platform within one week. Additionally, the Court prohibited Bloomberg from disseminating or publishing the article on any online or offline platform within the same timeframe.
