The Editors, Published on 20 May 2025, 6:50 pm
The Delhi High Court on 19 May 2025 summarily dismissed a case of contempt of court against Himal Southasian and its Editor filed this February by Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre (GZRRC) and the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust – both constituent parts of Vantara, the controversial wildlife project established by the Reliance corporation and led by the billionaire Ambani family. In its petition, Vantara had alleged that Himal wilfully disobeyed a judicial order to take down an investigative story on the wildlife project published on the Himal website in March 2024. The Delhi High Court held that there was no judicial order or direction passed by the Court against Himal requiring the magazine to remove the story, and hence the issue of contempt did not arise.
Himal and its Editor were represented by the senior counsel Vrinda Grover. “In the guise of a contempt petition, Vantara made an attempt to legally intimidate and remove an article that raises pertinent questions about the Vantara project,” Grover said. “However, the Honourable Delhi High Court did not allow this legal machination to succeed. The litigation initiated by Vantara was in the nature of a SLAPP (Strategic Litigation Against Public Participation) suit, meant to throttle freedom of the press and public debate on issues of public interest.”
Vantara’s legal action against Himal followed an in-depth investigation by M Rajshekhar that uncovered serious concerns with the wildlife project’s sourcing of animals.
There has been a dearth of serious reporting on Vantara in the Indian and Southasian media even as the project has been widely publicised and continues to grow at stunning speed, with GZRRC’s 2023–24 annual report listing 10,360 animals, up from 3889 the previous year. Meanwhile, numerous Indian media reports raising critical questions about Vantara have been rapidly taken down due to pressure and threats. AltNews has documented how stories published by Deccan Herald, The Telegraph, The Tribune and the Financial Express have disappeared. The webpage for a story on Vantara by Scroll now states only, “This article has been withheld in response to a legal demand.” The Australian Broadcasting Corporation has reported on how media outlets and wildlife conservationists with concerns over Vantara have been intimidated into silence.
The German daily Süddeutsche Zeitung has published an investigation raising more uncomfortable questions over the provenance of the wildlife at Vantara and citing Himal’s story. The Himal investigation has also been cited in coverage of Vantara by The Independent, The Times, Radio France Internationale, The News Minute, Vartha Bharati, TV9 Bangla and other media outlets, as well as in multiple reports on Vantara from wildlife conservation groups.
Himal is grateful to the Delhi High Court for rebuffing Vantara’s attempt to have our investigative story taken down. We stand by the investigation and will resist any attempts at intimidation or the suppression of journalistic freedom. Himal shall continue to exercise and defend its right to freely report and comment on issues of public interest as an independent media organisation for the Southasian region.Himal is able to publish uncompromised, high-quality journalism because it is entirely independent of any government or corporate funding or influence. Our readers help sustain our journalism via the Himal Patron programme for paying supporters of the magazine. Become a Patron today to support Himal’s operational costs, including legal expenses.
Courtesy: Free Speech Collective
