Court orders removal of Bloomberg article alleging $241 million discrepancy in company accounts of Zee

The Delhi Sessions Court has ordered Bloomberg Television Production Services India Pvt. Ltd. (Bloomberg) to remove a defamatory article published against ZEE Entertainment Enterprises Ltd. (ZEE) on February 21st, 2024.

ZEE had filed a lawsuit against Bloomberg, arguing that the article contained false and misleading information about the company's corporate governance and business operations. The lawsuit claimed the article was published with malicious intent to harm ZEE's reputation, and resulted in a 15 percent drop in the company's share price, causing significant financial losses to investors.

“The article by Bloomberg, incorrectly published that Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI) has found a $241 million accounting issue at the Company; whereas there is no such order from the mentioned regulator. Despite the Company firmly refuting the same, the article incorrectly published financial irregularities in ZEE, without the basis of any order from the regulator,” said a media statement from Zee.

The counsel for ZEE argued before the judge during a hearing conducted on 28th February 2024 that irreparable loss and injury may be caused to the company if the injunction as prayed for was not granted.

Granting relief to ZEE in a hearing conducted on 1st March 2024, additional district judge, Harjyot Singh Bhalla pronounced that ZEE has made out a prima facie case for passing ad interim ex-parte orders of injunction.

He directed Bloomberg to take down the defamatory article from its platform within one week of receipt of the order.

“The defendants are further restrained from posting, circulating or publishing the aforesaid article in respect of the plaintiff on any online or offline platform till the next date of hearing,” said the order.