Delhi Court Issues Fresh Summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in 2018 Defamation Case

Dhruv Rathee, a prominent Indian content creator with over 40 million YouTube subscribers and 8 billion views across his channels, faces fresh legal proceedings in a long-pending defamation case. The complaint was originally filed in 2018 by BJP IT Cell member Vikas Pandey following a controversial video uploaded by Rathee on his YouTube channel. The video was subsequently retweeted by then-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who later admitted to the Supreme Court that retweeting it was a mistake. For several years, attempts to serve Rathee with summons proved unsuccessful due to his primary residence in Austria. However, his recent return to India to participate in ongoing protests prompted the complainant to seek renewed legal action. On October 12, 2026, Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of Delhi's Saket Court approved fresh summons to be issued at Rathee's current address in Gurugram, Haryana, with permission for personal service. Rathee was physically served at his residence. Rathee was initially summoned in July 2019, but the case has remained pending throughout the intervening years. The complainant expressed that repeated efforts to effect service had been thwarted by Rathee's continued absence from India. The court has directed Rathee to appear for the next hearing scheduled for October 17, 2026. His legal representative has reportedly requested a pause in proceedings.