A magistrate court in Gujarat’s Gandhinagar on Tuesday convicted journalist Ravi Nair in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises Limited about a series of posts on social media platform X, and sentenced him to imprisonment for one year, PTI reported on Tuesday.
The case pertained to a series of tweets posted by Nair from October 2020 to July 2021 about the Adani Group, including allegations by US short seller Hindenburg Research and a strike against the proposed privatisation of the Jawaharlal Nehru Port Trust.
The court also imposed a fine of Rs 5,000 on Nair, ANI reported.
Commenting on the verdict, the journalist made a reference to a poem by Faiz Ahmad Faiz and said: “Hum Dekhenge [We will see]”.
Hum dekhenge 🦾
— Ravi Nair (@t_d_h_nair) February 10, 2026 The case was based on a complaint filed by Adani Enterprises, the flagship company of industrialist Gautam Adani’s Adani Group, alleging that Nair published and disseminated a series of posts on the social media platform X containing false and defamatory statements intended to damage its reputation.
The company alleged that Nair’s posts did not amount to fair comment or legitimate criticism but were designed to undermine the credibility of the firm in the eyes of the public and investors.
The court held that the offence of defamation had been proved, ANI reported. It also noted that the matter was triable as a summons case and therefore did not require a separate hearing on punishment.
The magistrate said that Nair, as a journalist and public commentator, was expected to be conscious of the reach and impact of the statements made on digital platforms, especially when making categorical allegations that could affect reputations.
The court also refused to extend the benefit of probation, adding that the journalist was a mature individual aware of the consequences of his actions, ANI reported. The judge added that granting probation in such cases would dilute the deterrent effect of the law and send a wrong message in cases involving reputational harm.
A simple imprisonment along with a financial penalty would adequately reflect the seriousness of the offence without being excessively harsh, the court held.
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