HC refuses interim injunction in Anjana Om Kashyap’s case against Khan Sir, others

The Delhi High Court on Monday declined to grant any interim injunction in the defamation suit filed by Anjana Om Kashyap and TV Today Network against online educator Faisal Khan, widely known as Khan Sir, and several others. 

The vacation bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna directed the defendants to file their replies to the interim injunction application, posting the matter for further hearing on June 17.

The plaintiffs are seeking removal of all defamatory content, a direction restraining further such posts, and damages of Rs 2 crore.

During the first hearing on Monday, counsel for one of the defendants raised a preliminary objection, arguing that the suit was not maintainable in its current form. The contention was that Kashyap had bundled multiple, distinct causes of action against several defendants into a single suit, and that these should instead be pursued through separate proceedings.

Kashyap’s counsel countered by urging the court to examine the allegedly toxic and abusive nature of the content. The court, however, stopped short of any interim relief, asking the defendants to first file their replies.

The suit, filed through advocates Hrishikesh Baruah, Utkarsh Dwivedi and Pragya Agarwal, stems from a controversy triggered after Kashyap hosted a debate on Aaj Tak on May 29 in which she commented on the growing commercialisation of education and the outsized influence of online “star teachers”, according to Bar and Bench. She has maintained the remarks were fair journalistic commentary on a matter of public importance.

According to the suit, several defendants, including Khan Sir and fellow educators Abhinay Sharma, Babita Tyagi, and Arvind Bhadauriya, along with certain X handles and 4PM News Network, subsequently ran a social media campaign against her and India Today between May 30 and June 4. The suit alleges the campaign involved videos, posts and broadcasts that described Kashyap and Aaj Tak using terms such as “bikau patrakar,” “chatukar,” and accused them of “dalaali” and running a “fake news ki dukaan”, according to Bar and Bench.

An allegation in the suit concerns Khan publicly disclosing the name of the school attended by Kashyap’s child – information the suit describes as irrelevant to the public controversy and potentially exposing her family to harassment and security risks.

The court will now hear the matter on June 17.

Khan has simultaneously found himself at the centre of a separate controversy in Patna, where violence outside his coaching institute, Khan Global Studies, has snowballed into a criminal case against him. 

On June 2, a group allegedly vandalised the premises in the city’s Kadamkuan area and attacked a security guard. Khan initially claimed that rivals had fired multiple outside the institute, but the investigation took a turn when police arrested three persons linked to a rival coaching institute and then two of Khan’s own security guards, who allegedly told investigators they had opened fire on his instructions. He has consequently been booked on charges including attempt to murder, though his lawyer has denied the allegations, describing the case as retaliatory, with an anticipatory bail plea in the works.

Compounding his troubles, Bihar Fire Services conducted a safety audit of Khan Global Studies as part of a statewide compliance drive and claimed to have found multiple deficiencies, including the absence of a fire alarm system, no fire pump, and an inadequate overhead water tank. The institute has been issued a notice to rectify the shortcomings within a week. Officials have warned that failure to comply could result in the premises being sealed.

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