Asian News International (ANI) has reportedly filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court against YouTuber Mohak Mangal, claiming that allegations made against the news agency in one of his recent videos are false, defamatory, and damaging to its reputation.
As per a media report, the suit—filed through Advocate Akshit Mago—is scheduled for hearing on May 29. Alongside Mangal, comedian Kunal Kamra and Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair have also been named as defendants for resharing the video on their social media handles.
The video in question was published on May 25 on Mangal’s YouTube channel. In it, he alleged that ANI engaged in blackmail and extortion after issuing multiple copyright strikes against his content. Mangal claimed that an ANI representative approached him and demanded over ?40 lakh to remove the copyright strikes placed on his videos, which used short clips sourced from ANI.
According to ANI, the statements made in the video are intended to discredit the agency and its services, which are operated under registered trademarks. The plea states that Mangal admitted to using ANI’s original copyrighted material for revenue-generating content, and despite that, published a video "filled with defamatory and damaging statements.
The suit also argues that the video misuses ANI’s trademarks with “defamatory commentary,” and is “deliberately designed to harm the plaintiff’s reputation, discourage the use of its services, and spread falsehoods.”
On Kamra, Zubair, and other parties who have reshared the video, ANI’s petition said, “In addition to widely sharing the impugned video, these defendants have independently published further false, baseless, and malicious statements targeting the plaintiff and its founders. These statements are devoid of any factual or legal foundation and are clearly intended to malign the plaintiff’s reputation and lower its estimation in the eyes of the public.”
ANI has sought the following relief from the court:
A permanent and mandatory injunction directing Mangal to take down the video, stop using ANI’s trademarks, and refrain from publishing or circulating any further allegedly false or defamatory content.
Similar restraining orders against Kamra, Zubair, and others named, barring them from making or sharing defamatory statements about ANI or its associated trademarks.
The case is likely to come up for hearing tomorrow.
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