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SC’s Bonnard Rule
September 25 , 2025
15 hrs 0 min
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- The Bonnard standard, from Bonnard vs Perryman (1891, UK), restricts courts from granting injunctions unless the defendant clearly cannot justify the alleged defamation.
- The Supreme Court of India reaffirmed this standard in 2024 by striking down an ex parte injunction against Bloomberg.
- The Court ruled that injunctions should be granted only when not granting them causes greater injustice.
- A Delhi court’s ex parte gag order against journalists in the Adani defamation case violated this standard by imposing prior restraint without hearing the defence.
- Such prior restraint violates Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution, which guarantees freedom of speech subject to reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2).
- The Supreme Court has repeatedly condemned ex parte injunctions that threaten free speech and the public’s right to know.
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