A Delhi court has issued fresh summons to YouTuber Dhruv Rathee in a defamation case dating back to 2018, after noting that efforts to serve him had continued for several years. Judicial Magistrate Rahul Jain of the Saket Courts passed the order on October 12, 2026, on an application filed by complainant Vikas Sankrityayan, also known as Vikas Pandey.
Background
The complaint arose from a video titled BJP IT Cell Part II, which Rathee allegedly published and circulated in May 2018. Pandey alleged that the video contained false allegations against him, including a claim that the BJP's Information Technology cell had attempted to bribe him to defame Rathee. The allegations remain part of the pending defamation proceedings.
The complainant sought an early hearing, stating that the summons had remained unserved for years because Rathee ordinarily resided abroad. His counsel, Advocate Samaksh Sharma, informed the court that Rathee was currently in India and was staying at an address in Gurugram, Haryana.
Taking note of the submissions and the earlier proceedings, the magistrate observed:
"From the available record, it is clear that the complainant has been trying to serve accused no. 1 since last several years as the accused was initially summoned vide order dated 23.07.2019. In view of the submissions of the counsel for complainant, let fresh summons be issued to accused no. 1...."
The court directed that fresh summons, including summons to be served by hand, be issued to Rathee at his Gurugram address. It also permitted Pandey to accompany the court official responsible for serving the summons.
The court directed the complainant to deposit the process fee within two days and listed the matter for further hearing on October 17, 2026.
