Union Minister of State for Home Affairs Bandi Sanjay Kumar has filed a defamation suit in a Hyderabad civil court against social media platforms, media organisations, journalists and several online accounts, accusing them of running a “malicious campaign” against him over the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) case involving his son, Bandi Sai Bhageerath.
The suit was filed before the vacation bench of the City Civil Court on Sunday, May 24. Sanjay has sought Rs 1 crore in damages and alleged that a coordinated campaign across media and digital platforms falsely linked him to the allegations against his son and damaged his reputation.
In his petition, the Union Minister said that though he is not named as an accused in the FIR against his son, nor there are allegations of “criminal misconduct, interference in investigation or misuse of office”, various media houses, digital platforms, social media accounts, YouTube channels, online publications, “embarked upon a coordinated and malicious campaign to falsely implicate and politically target” him and his family members.
He said that through publication of “sensationalised articles, misleading thumbnails, fabricated social media posts, defamatory captions, videos, tweets and speculative commentary,” the defendants were creating an alleged false public perception that Bandi Sanjay was personally connected with, influencing or shielding the alleged acts involving his son, the petition read.
Earlier, the same court had passed an ad-interim injunction directing media houses to “remove and delete all the posts from all media platforms” in connection with the media coverage involving Union Minister of State (Home Affairs) Bandi Sanjay in the POCSO case involving his 25-year-old son.
Bhageerath was arrested by Telangana police on May 16 for allegedly sexually assaulting a 17-year-old girl. He was absconding for several days after police registered an FIR against him on May 8 and later failed to appear for questioning despite being summoned on May 13.
Police said the case was registered by Pet Basheerabad police based on a complaint filed by the minor girl’s family, who alleged that Bhageerath sexually assaulted her at a farmhouse in Moinabad on December 31. Additional sections under the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act (POCSO) were added to the FIR on May 12, including aggravated penetrative sexual assault provisions.
Before his arrest, Bhageerath had approached the Telangana High Court seeking anticipatory bail. The court however declined to grant interim relief.
In his petition, Sanjay claimed that several defendants, including media houses, YouTube channels, digital platforms and social media accounts, published misleading and defamatory content to create a false impression that he was attempting to influence the investigation or shield his son.
He alleged that sensationalised articles, fabricated social media posts, videos, thumbnails and commentary were used to falsely connect him personally to the case. According to the suit, these publications caused “irreparable reputational injury”, professional embarrassment, humiliation and political damage.
The petition names 23 defendants, including Google, Meta and X, along with Telugu news channels, digital media outlets, political party accounts and individuals. It includes references to around 50 X posts, 99 Instagram posts and multiple YouTube links. “The defamatory nature of the contents is clear from the fact that most of these articles publish the photograph of the plaintiff to suggest his purported association with the alleged offence,” the suit said.
Among the alleged defamatory content are posts made from the official account of the Congress party, BRS leaders KT Rama Rao and RS Praveen Kumar, singer and activist Chinmayi, journalist Revathi and Pulse News, BBC News Telugu, and the YouTube channel Mahua Media in which senior journalist Vanaja had posted a video on the issue.
The suit states that many of these posts prominently used Sanjay’s photograph alongside coverage of the case, which he said falsely implied his involvement or association with the alleged offence.
Sanjay has repeatedly claimed that the case against his son is part of a political conspiracy aimed at targeting him. Soon after the allegations became public, he claimed that political rivals were attempting to malign him and his family.
In a post on X on May 9, Sanjay described the case as a “political hit job” and said it was timed to coincide with Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Telangana. “It is evident that this is a political hit job aimed at maligning me personally ahead of tomorrow’s public meeting of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi ji,” he said.
He further claimed that those behind the allegations were unable to accept his rise as a backward classes leader in the Union government and were using the case to politically target him.
Meanwhile, Cyberabad police have also registered a separate case over the circulation of photos and videos revealing the identity of the minor girl in violation of the POCSO Act and juvenile justice laws.
Police said social media users circulated visuals of the girl and her parents after the allegations emerged, including content attempting to cast doubt on the complaint by highlighting their interactions with Bhageerath. Officials said the identities of several social media accounts involved had been identified and shared with the relevant authorities.
The victim’s mother had earlier appealed publicly against sharing her daughter’s identity or private material linked to the case, saying the circulation of such content had deeply harmed the family.
Bhageerath has also filed a counter-complaint against the girl and her family, alleging blackmail and extortion. A separate FIR was registered in Karimnagar based on that complaint.