NEW DELHI: BJP national spokesperson and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia has approached the Delhi high court seeking Rs 2 crore in damages from Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) founder Abhijeet Dipke and co-convenors Saurav Das and Ashutosh Ranka over alleged defamatory social media posts.The defamation suit, which also names the CJP as a defendant, is scheduled to come up before the HC on Wednesday.Bhatia also announced the legal action on his X handle, posting: “Tomorrow, every solid argument will echo in the court. The final nail will be hammered into the coffin of lies.”Das responded to Bhatia’s post with a taunt in Hindi: “Hilte dulte Greater Noida court matt poch jana!”The legal dispute centres on social media posts by the CJP and its leaders that allegedly circulated a graphic containing a statement falsely attributed to Bhatia.Das had subsequently deleted his post, published on September 5, saying it was “AI-generated”. Bhatia, however, has demanded an unqualified apology.In another post on X on Tuesday, Bhatia said, “When accusations cross their limits, then the law draws its line”.He said the matter would now be tested in court on the basis of facts, evidence and the rule of law.Bhatia’s lawsuit alleges that the CJP leaders have displayed a “consistent propensity to target individuals” through social media posts that allegedly seek to malign them.The plea specifically alleged that Das and Ranka did not merely criticise or disagree with anything Bhatia had actually said, but instead attributed statements to him that he had never made.“The defendant no 1 & 2 (Das and Ranka) did not merely engage in criticism, comment or disagreement with any statement actually made by the plaintiff.“Rather, defendant no 1 & 2 falsely represented to the public that the plaintiff had made statements, which, in fact, he had never made,” the plea said.The lawsuit further alleged that the CJP and its leaders have repeatedly made comments that lower the dignity and authority of the judiciary.Bhatia has sought a permanent injunction against the CJP and its leaders, besides claiming Rs 2 crore in damages.The CJP, which began as an online campaign, had spearheaded an agitation over the NEET paper leak issue at Jantar Mantar.
