On April 28, 2026, the Delhi High Court issued an order restraining two YouTube channels, TechWiser and TechBar, from publishing material that disparaged AI+ Smartphones and its founder Madhav Sheth. The restraint was extended to unknown parties on YouTube and other platforms. The order was passed by Justice Tushar Rao Gedela in case CS(COMM) 429/2026, three days after the suit was filed, according to medianama.com.
The court noted that parts of the videos constituted fair criticism but found that taken together they bordered on disparagement. Neither reviewer had been given an opportunity to present their side, raising concerns about natural justice principles. The order will remain in effect until the next substantive hearing scheduled for November 27, 2026. The Supreme Court has previously emphasized that pre-trial injunctions on publication are exceptional and reserved for cases where defenses of truth or fair comment are likely to fail.
This ruling aligns with precedents such as the Bloomberg v. Zee Entertainment case in March 2024, where the Supreme Court described pre-trial publication bans as a "death sentence" for the material. The legal principle originates from the 1891 English case Bonnard v. Perryman and has been adopted in Indian cases like Tata Sons v. Greenpeace in 2011. The decision highlights the tension between protecting reputations and upholding free speech in digital media.
The next hearing on November 27 will determine whether the restraint order on TechWiser, TechBar, and unknown parties will be extended or lifted, marking a significant moment for content regulation on online platforms in India.