Explained: Issues of press freedom, ‘right to be forgotten’ in challenge to Sandesara gag order
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Context
Moneylife has challenged a trial court's 'John Doe' gag order directing the removal of its news reports regarding the Sterling Biotech bank fraud case. The gag order was sought by the Sandesara family after the Supreme Court closed criminal proceedings against them following a ₹5,100 crore settlement in November 2025. This legal battle highlights the growing friction between media freedom, the right to be forgotten, and the misuse of defamation suits to censor public interest journalism.
UPSC Perspectives
Polity
The central constitutional debate in this case is the friction between the freedom of the press under [Article 19(1)(a)] and the 'right to be forgotten' which emerges from the right to privacy under [Article 21], as established in the [Puttaswamy Judgment]. The plaintiff argued that because the Supreme Court settled the criminal case, past articles calling them 'fugitives' were now defamatory. However, the media argues that Indian law does not recognize an absolute right to be forgotten, particularly when it comes to erasing factual historical records and public history. The courts must balance individual reputation against the public's right to information, ensuring that public records are not obliterated merely upon individual request, especially when past reporting was factually accurate at the time.
Governance
The case sheds light on the growing menace of SLAPP suits (Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation), which are disproportionate legal actions initiated by powerful entities to intimidate and silence journalists or civil society. The trial court bypassed standard judicial procedures by granting an [ex-parte ad-interim injunction] (a temporary order passed without hearing the opposing side) using a 'John Doe' (unknown defendants) format, despite the publishers' identities being public. This violates the legal guidelines laid down by the Supreme Court in the 2024 [Bloomberg vs Zee Entertainment] judgment. In that landmark ruling, the apex court explicitly cautioned lower courts against granting pre-trial injunctions and mechanical censorship against the media unless the published content is proven to be 'malicious' or 'palpably false'.
Economic
The underlying economic context involves one of India's largest banking frauds, where the Sterling Group promoters were investigated by the [CBI] and the [Enforcement Directorate] for allegedly defaulting on loans exceeding ₹19,000 crore. In November 2025, the Supreme Court exercised its extraordinary jurisdiction under [Article 142] to quash all criminal and civil proceedings against the Sandesaras, conditional upon a ₹5,100 crore one-time settlement to recover public money for lender banks. Moneylife argues that this pragmatic settlement for asset recovery does not equate to an acquittal or an admission of no liability. From a UPSC perspective, this raises questions about how large economic offenders might use financial settlements to not only evade criminal liability but also retroactively erase their financial misconduct from the public domain.