The Delhi High Court has reportedly dismissed a contempt of court case filed by Vantara affiliates against Himal Southasian and its editor.
Filed this February by Greens Zoological, Rescue and Rehabilitation Centre and the Radhe Krishna Temple Elephant Welfare Trust, the petition had alleged that Himal wilfully disobeyed a judicial order to take down a report on the wildlife project published on the Himal website in March 2024.
However, the Delhi High Court on May 19 held that the issue of contempt did not arise as there was no judicial order or direction against Himal requiring the magazine to remove the story, according to a statement by Himal.
“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,” the statement quoted senior counsel Vrinda Grover, who represented Himal and its editor, as saying.
The statement further noted that 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 statement said.
“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.”
The outlet said it stands 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.”
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