FOR several years, the Adani Group, a vast Indian conglomerate run by billionaire Gautam Adani, has adopted a particularly aggressive stance towards journalists, filing numerous lawsuits, all of which are lengthy and expensive.
Reporters Without Borders (RSF) calls on the group to stop their lawfare tactics, which are hindering press freedom, and urges Indian lawmakers to adopt a law against Strategic Lawsuits Against Public Participation (SLAPPs), a legislation that is now more urgent than ever.
Since 2017, the Adani Group has been waging an unprecedented legal war against journalists and media outlets investigating its activities. Through the extensive use of civil and criminal defamation lawsuits, the group has sought to obstruct the work of at least 15 journalists, including some of the most respected voices in Indian media.
In nearly nine years, at least ten cases have been documented by RSF, each giving rise to multiple legal proceedings, mainly in the state of Gujarat, Gautam Adani’s stronghold. While no journalist or media outlet has been convicted in any of the lawsuits brought against them by Adani, in at least four cases, short-term gag orders temporarily silenced journalists, even before the courts were able to rule on the merits of the case.
The purpose of these SLAPP suits is to intimidate and exhaust the journalists psychologically and financially, using the legal process as a punishment in itself. To date, nine journalists are still involved in ongoing proceedings, including independent investigative journalists Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (seven cases), Abir Dasgupta (four cases), and Ravi Nair (two cases).
“The Adani Group’s legal persecution of investigative journalists poses a serious threat to media independence in India. RSF is alarmed by this strategy of repeated legal action aimed at deterring any investigation into a major player in India’s economy. In these cases, the legal process itself is often the punishment. RSF calls on the Indian authorities to put an end to attempts to use the judicial system to silence journalists. The adoption of an anti-SLAPP law is more needed than ever.
Key suits against journalists
Adani Power Limited v. EPW, The Wire, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (2017–present):
On 24 June 2017, the subsidiary Adani Power Limited (APL) sent cease-and-desist letters to the academic journal Economic and Political Weekly (EPW) and the independent news site The Wire, demanding they remove and article both outlets had published on the government’s amendment to rules governing special economic zone, which was co-authored by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, Advait Rao Palepu, Shinzani Jain, and Abir Dasgupta. While EPW complied, The Wire challenged the withdrawal order in court and obtained permission to leave the article online, provided minor changes were made.
APL then filed two lawsuits for “defamation” against the authors and The Wire in the Mundra court in Gujarat: a civil lawsuit on Aug 18, 2017 and a criminal lawsuit on Dec 21, 2017.
Adani Group (four subsidiaries) v. The Wire, Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (2017–present)
On 23 December 2017, Adani Harbour Services Limited filed a civil defamation suit in an Ahmedabad court — a city in Gujarat — against The Wire; its editors-in-chief; journalists Noor Mohammad and Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and researcher Varun Santhosh, following the publication of two articles: one on the The Directorate Of Revenue Intelligence’s investigations into the Adani Group, written by Varun Santhosh with contributions from Paranjoy Guha Thakurta, and the other on public sector investments in the Adani Group’s gas terminals, written by Noor Mohammad.
Adani Power Rajasthan Limited v. NewsClick (2020–present)
On Sept 16, 2020, after the publication of two articles co-authored by Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Abir Dasgupta and published by NewsClick — one of which was on a Supreme Court judge’s approval of the Indian electricity regulators’ decision to grant Adani Power “compensatory tariffs,” the other on numerous judgments in favor of Adani granted by the same judge — the company filed a civil defamation suit in an Ahmedabad court against NewsClick, its founder and editor-in-chief Prabir Purkayastha and the two authors of the article.
Published in Dawn, February 6th, 2026