Delhi High Court Issues Summons To Newslaundry In Defamation Suit By Eduquity Career Technologies

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued summons to digital news platform Newslaundry in a defamation suit filed by Eduquity Career Technologies, a company specializing in examination solutions for corporate, government, and educational sectors.

Eduquity has filed the suit over an article published by Newslaundry last year titled “Years before NEET row, NTA contracted 2 exam firms with murky record.”

Justice Jyoti Singh issued summons in the suit and directed Newslaundry to file its written statement in the matter.

The Court also issued notice on Eduquity's application seeking interim injunction relief in the case.

Earlier this year, Eduquity Career Technologies became a new vendor for the Staff Selection Commission (SSC) having replaced Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) as the agency responsible for conducting the examinations.

In the article impugned by Eduquity, Newslaundry has claimed that the company's name has surfaced in several paper leak and cheating cases.

It further said that in 2022, Eduquity was contracted to conduct the Madhya Pradesh Teacher Eligibility Test. However, it took a commission and subcontracted the job to Rajasthan-based Sai Educare Private Ltd.

“The exam paper was leaked and went viral on social media. One year later, Eduquity was given another contract to conduct patwari exams in the state, which also faced cheating issues,” the article reads.

During the hearing today, Eduquity's counsel said that various defamatory videos have been published on social media recently referring to the contents mentioned in the impugned article.

As per the counsel, the said infringing videos were amplifying the article in question.

On Court's question as to if the allegations were verified before publishing the story, Newslaundry's counsel said that the article was published more than a year ago.

The counsel also said that Newslaundry was claiming truth as the defence.

The Court then proceeded to issue summons in the suit and issued notice on the application seeking interim relief.

Title: Eduquity Career Technologies v. Newslaundry & Ors