No end seems to be in sight for YouTuber Dhruv Rathee’s troubles, as a court in Delhi on Saturday issued a fresh bailable warrant against him on Saturday, in connection with a defamation case dating back to 2018 over a video published on his YouTube channel. The move emerged after the court was informed that Rathee’s residence was found locked when officials tried to serve summons to him earlier.

Judicial Magistrate (First CLass) Rahul Jain, presiding over the matter in south-east Delhi, issued the warrant on Saturday. A complaint filed by one Vikas Sanskrityayan over Rathee’s video titled ‘BJP IT Cell Part II’ led to the issuance of the warrant against the latter.

As per reports, the court has scheduled the next hearing in the case for October 31, 2026, while a detailed copy of the order is awaited.

Details of the defamation case against Rathee

In the complaint, it was alleged that Rathee published and circulated a video containing defamatory statements and false allegations against Sanskrityayan. The complainant has challenged the details mentioned in the video, claiming that the allegations levelled against him were untrue and tarnished his reputation.

The development marks a significant turn in the legal proceedings, which commenced several years ago. Initially, Rathee was summoned in the case in 2019, as claimed by a report by news agency PTI.

Why did the court issue a fresh warrant?

Earlier this week, the court issued fresh summons to Rathee after the complainant sought an earlier hearing date. The case had been listed for hearing on November 20 earlier.

The application for preponement cited Rathee’s presence in India over protests against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) exercise.

Advocate Samaksh Sharma, representing the complainant, submitted that Rathee ordinarily lives in Austria and had recently arrived in India to attend a protest helmed by the pressure group, Cockroach Janta Party (CJP).

Following the receipt of the application, the court advanced the matter and issued fresh summons on October 12, directing officials to serve them at Rathee’s house in Haryana’s Gurugram.

Subsequently, the court was informed that when the authorities reached Rathee’s house in Gurugram, it was found locked. Following this development, the court issued a bailable warrant against the YouTuber.

Case to return to court on Oct 31

The proceedings in the case are now slated to resume on October 31 this year, when the court is expected to hear the matter further.

Notably, a bailable warrant is a direction issued by the court which allows the person concerned to secure release by furnishing bail, subject to the applicable conditions. Its issuance by itself does not establish guilt in the underlying case.

The defamation proceedings against Rathee are pending, and the allegations levelled against him are yet to be adjudicated.