On March 22, 2024, a 3 (three) judge bench of the Supreme Court
passed an order1 reiterating the importance of
freedom of speech and expression, granted by Article 19(1)(a) of
the Constitution of India, in relation to articles published by
media platforms.
The order was pursuant to a suit filed by Zee Entertainment
Enterprises Limited (“Zee“) against
Bloomberg Television Production Services India Private Limited
(“Bloomberg“) in relation to an
article titled ‘India Regulator Uncovers $ 241 Million
Accounting Issue at Zee‘
(“Article“) published on
Bloomberg's website on February 21, 2024. The Article
discussed the status of the Zee-Sony merger and the ongoing
investigation of Zee carried out by the Securities and Exchange
Board of India (“SEBI“). Zee,
aggrieved by the Article, filed a suit for permanent injunction and
prayed for it to be removed from the Bloomberg website. Zee
contended that the Article was defamatory, asserting that it was
published with malicious
