Gujarat court grants bail to journalist Ravi Nair in Adani Enterprises defamation case
A sessions court in Gandhinagar, Gujarat, granted bail on Thursday to journalist Ravi Nair, a week after he was taken into custody for failing to appear in person at a hearing in a criminal defamation case filed by Adani Enterprises.
Principal District and Sessions Judge Ashish J S Malhotra allowed the bail plea relating to his arrest on September 17, his lawyer Ronith Joy said. The arrest followed a non-bailable warrant (NBW) issued by the same court after Mr. Nair did not appear personally before it during a hearing in his appeal against conviction in the case.
"His bail application was moved in the sessions court on Saturday and it was heard on Monday. Today, the court allowed his plea," Mr. Joy said.
Background of the case
Adani Enterprises filed the criminal defamation complaint on September 3, 2021, over certain tweets and articles attributed to Mr. Nair. On February 10, 2026, a Mansa court in Gandhinagar sentenced him to one year's imprisonment in the matter.
The journalist challenged the conviction before an appellate court in Gandhinagar, which granted him bail on March 9, 2026. The bail was granted on the condition that he remain present during hearings of his appeal.
According to his lawyers, he could not appear personally at the hearing held on September 3, 2026, because of poor health and because he had to travel from his native state, Kerala. The appellate court declined his request for an exemption from personal appearance and issued an NBW against him. On September 17, the court directed that he be taken into custody, and he was sent to jail.
Parallel proceedings in the High Court
Besides his bail plea in the sessions court, Mr. Nair also moved the Gujarat High Court seeking a stay on the NBW. On Wednesday, the High Court declined to grant him interim relief, while questioning his lawyer for not disclosing that a bail application had also been filed before the sessions court in the same matter.
The High Court observed that had it been informed of the sessions court plea, it may not have granted permission for an urgent hearing on Saturday.
The High Court had heard his petition on Saturday evening after a note was moved before the Chief Justice seeking an urgent hearing, on the ground that the matter concerned Article 21 of the Constitution and the personal liberty of an individual.
What the law says
Criminal defamation remains an offence in India, carrying a maximum punishment of simple imprisonment of up to two years, or a fine, or both. The provision has been the subject of long-standing debate over its effect on free expression, and petitions challenging its constitutional validity have been filed in the Supreme Court in the past.
In this case, the conviction relates to a private criminal complaint filed by a company, not to a prosecution initiated by the State. Under Indian law, a person convicted by a lower court may appeal, and appellate courts commonly suspend the sentence and grant bail pending the outcome of the appeal. Conditions attached to such bail, including the requirement of personal appearance, are set by the court hearing the appeal.
What happens next
Mr. Nair's appeal against his conviction remains pending before the appellate court in Gandhinagar. With the sessions court having allowed his bail plea on Thursday, he is no longer in custody in connection with the NBW. The question of whether his personal appearance can be exempted in future hearings, and the wider appeal itself, are yet to be decided.
The court orders and the sequence of hearings reported so far relate to procedural steps in the appeal. No fresh finding on the merits of the defamation complaint has been recorded in the proceedings this month, and the conviction and sentence passed in February 2026 remain the subject of challenge.
