New Delhi, April 6
The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to entertain an appeal filed by activist Kunal Shukla against an interim order that directed him to remove social media posts allegedly linking Himayani Puri, daughter of Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri, to convicted American sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Rather than change the earlier order, a division bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Renu Bhatnagar told Shukla to raise his objections with the single judge who first gave the interim direction.
The bench also asked the single judge to handle the case soon and decide if the temporary restraint should stay or be removed. The court gave Shukla one week to respond to Himayani Puri’s request for an injunction. It said the case should go before the single judge on 23 April and asked for a quick resolution after both sides are heard.
Shukla challenged the single judge’s 17 March order, saying it was a broad ban on his social media activity. His lawyers argued he did not get enough notice or a fair chance to respond before the restraint was put in place.
Appearing for Shukla, senior advocate Vikas Singh told the court that the posts in question were published in February and were framed as questions based on publicly available material, including international reports and official records. He argued there was no justification for such urgency without allowing even a short window for reply.
Singh also alleged that the single judge accepted Puri’s version too readily while setting the next hearing several months away.
Representing Himayani Puri, senior advocate Mahesh Jethmalani opposed the appeal and defended the earlier order.
After hearing both sides, the High Court suggested it would not go into the merits at this stage, but would instead ensure that the hearing before the single judge was brought forward and that Shukla got time to file his reply. Shukla’s side agreed to that course.
Another senior advocate for the appellant, Sudhir Nandrajog, urged the court to accelerate the wider trial in the case, but the bench declined, making it clear it did not want to influence proceedings beyond the immediate scheduling issue.
In her civil suit, Himayani Puri is asking for Rs 10 crore in damages, a permanent injunction against several people and platforms, and an unconditional apology along with a retraction of the material she says is defamatory.
Her petition alleges that from around 22 February 2026, a coordinated online campaign spread false and malicious claims connecting her to Epstein across platforms including X, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and several digital news outlets.
Puri has told the court she is a finance and investment professional and is being unfairly targeted because she is the daughter of the Union minister for petroleum and natural gas.
According to her suit, the online material falsely suggested she had direct or indirect personal, financial or professional links with Epstein. She has denied the allegations in full, calling them baseless, malicious and unsupported by evidence.
The term “Epstein files” refers to a large collection of documents from investigations into Epstein and his associate Ghislaine Maxwell. These include travel logs, emails, and other records. The material has drawn global attention since Epstein died in custody in 2019.
