Delhi court orders Bloomberg to take down 'defamatory' article against Zee

According to Zee, the "factually incorrect article" led to a "15 percent drop in share price" of the company.

Presenting its case at the Delhi Sessions Court, Zee argued that the article published by Bloomberg was "false and factually incorrect, with a premeditated intention to defame the company".

The article, published on Feb 21, mentioned details about the corporate governance and business operations of ZEE, which were "inaccurate" and led to a 15 percent drop in share price of the company, eroding investor wealth, it said.

In a big relief to Zee, Additional District Judge Harjyot Singh Bhalla directed Bloomberg to "take down the defamatory article from its platform within one week of receipt of the order".

It also restrained the platform from posting, circulating, or publishing the article on any online or offline platform till the next date of hearing.

The article by Bloomberg, incorrectly published that the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has found a $241 million accounting issue at the Company, whereas there is no such order from the mentioned regulator, Zee insisted.

It said that "despite the company firmly refuting the same, the article incorrectly published financial irregularities in Zee, without the basis of any order from the regulator".