Hyperlinking Defamatory Content Can Lead To Fresh Defamation Claim : Delhi High Court

The Delhi High Court has clarified whether hyperlinking a defamatory article amounts to republication, leading to a fresh defamation claim.

The case involved a ₹2 crore defamation suit filed by Ruchi Kalra, co-founder of OFB Tech Pvt Ltd, against The Morning Context for publishing an allegedly defamatory article.

The Court ruled that hyperlinking to expand the reach of defamatory content constitutes republication, creating a fresh cause of action. However, mere reference without reinforcement does not.

Despite this, the Court denied OFB’s (complainant's) request for an interim injunction, stating that freedom of speech must be balanced against reputation concerns, and injuncting the article prematurely would be unjustified.