Delhi High Court quashes defamation case against former MP Pinaki Misra

Delhi High Court quashes defamation case against former MP Pinaki Misra Singh subsequently filed two criminal complaints in 2019 before a magistrate court in Patiala House, seeking defamation proceedings against Misra over the remarks.

Key points

• 2 min read New Delhi Aug 28, 2026 05: 42 AM IST.
• Former Biju Janata Dal Lok Sabha MP and senior advocate Pinaki Misra.
• In its absence, the court discovered "no independent material" linking the remarks to Misra. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.
• The order, created public on Wednesday, was passed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.
• Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express.

Meanwhile, the Delhi High Court Tuesday quashed criminal defamation proceedings against former Biju Janata Dal Lok Sabha MP and senior advocate Pinaki Misra, ruling that there was insufficient material to sustain the case.

In practice, the order, created public on Wednesday, was passed by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma. This person observed that continuing the criminal proceedings "would not advance the cause of justice and would instead subject (Misra) to the rigours of a criminal trial in the absence of sufficient foundational material".

In practice, the case arose from a complaint filed by advocate Siddhartha Singh. This person had accused Misra of professional misconduct before the Bar Council of Delhi in August 2018, alleging that Misra took contradictory positions on e-waste rules – first before a parliamentary committee, and afterwards, while representing power distribution businesses at the National Green Tribunal. Misra denied the allegations and, in response, called Singh a "crook" and "blackmailer".

According to Justice Sharma, there is "no material on record, in the form of statement of any other person or otherwise, to prima facie demonstrate that the alleged imputation had the effect of lowering" Singh's reputation. According to The court further, during the pre-summoning evidence stage, Singh had examined only himself as a witness, and that a bare assertion of reputational harm did not meet the legal threshold required to initiate criminal defamation proceedings.

Singh's case relied on an online report by Dailyhunt in which Misra was quoted calling him a "crook". Misra denied giving any such interview and pointed to a letter he had written in March 2019 to the editor of Odisha Post, seeking a published clarification on the same grounds.

According to The court additionally, the magistrate had not examined the publication or the reporter concerned – a step that could have established, at least prima facie, that Misra had actually produced the statement. In its absence, the court discovered "no independent material" linking the remarks to Misra. © The Indian Express Pvt Ltd.

Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she lately moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court Professional Profile Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express. Core Beats: Her reporting is at present centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, matters of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare). Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice problems, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others. She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that made public the segregation of wards at the state's largest administration hospital on lines of faith in April 2020. As well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots, with Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage problems, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025) Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles: High-Profile Case Coverage She has extensively covered the various legal battles – including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission – pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots. She has additionally led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms – such as the government's stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy. Signature Style Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to create legalese accessible for readers. While maintaining a solid commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system, her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law. X (Twitter): @thanda_ghosh.

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