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Rajat Sharma

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Indian journalist

Rajat Sharma
Rajat Sharma in 2019
Born (1957-02-18) 18 February 1957 (age 67)
New Delhi, India
NationalityIndian
Alma mater
Occupations
OrganizationIndia TV
Spouse Ritu Dhawan ​(m. 1997)​
AwardsPadma Bhushan (2015)

Rajat Sharma (born 18 February 1957) is an Indian journalist and businessperson acting as the chairman and Editor-in-chief of India TV, an Indian news channel. He is most known as host of Indian television show Aap Ki Adalat, which first aired in 1993, making it the longest-running reality show in India's television history, In 2015, he was awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of India's highest civilian awards. Sharma is notable for his close ties with influential political figures, including the Prime Minister, Narendra Modi and Arun Jaitley.

Early life and education

Sharma was born 18 February 1957 in Sabzi Mandi, Delhi. He grew up with his six brothers and a sister, and did his schooling from Sanatan Dharm Middle School, Subzi Mandi (1963-71) and Ramjas School, Pusa Road (1971-74). Meanwhile, he became part of the movement led by Jayprakash Narayan, and involved with a small newspaper, 'Mashaal'. Subsequently, in 1975, when the Emergency was declared by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, he was arrested and imprisoned in Tihar Jail for 11 months for his activities with the movement. After his release, he pursued his higher education at the Shri Ram College of Commerce (SRCC) and joined Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). In 1977, he was elected the General Secretary of the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU), with Vijay Goel as the Union's President.

Career

Pranab Mukherjee presenting the Padma Bhushan Award to Rajat Sharma

He started his journalism career in 1984, as a reporter with the fortnightly magazine Onlooker. He went on to become the editor of the newspaper Sunday Observer in 1987 and later remained the editor of The Daily till 1992. In 1993, he started hosting Aap ki Adalat, an interview show in the format of a courtroom (Adalat) on Zee TV. Nearly a decade later he co-founded TV news channel India TV in 2004, along with his wife Ritu Dhawan.

Today he remains the chairman and Editor-in-chief of India TV, an Indian news outlet. Sharma is said to be very close to the ruling BJP and the late Arun Jaitley, a BJP politician and the Prime Minister Narendra Modi. In 2014, India TV's former anchor Tanu Sharma filed FIR against two India TV executives, including Sharma, alleging that she faced harassment in the workplace leading her to attempt suicide. In response, Sharma and Ritu Dhiman threatened to pursue legal action against her.

In May 2023, Sharma filed a lawsuit against Ravindra Kumar Choudhary, leading the Delhi High Court to restrain Choudhary from using the names “Baap Ki Adalat” and “Jhandiya TV,” which were deemed deceptively similar to Sharma's show “Aap Ki Adalat.” The court ordered that Choudhary must cease using Sharma’s images and name across various platforms.

Sharma has also filed a public interest litigation (PIL) in the Delhi High Court, urging the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to identify and block platforms that facilitate deepfake creation, following his own experience with a malicious deepfake video. The court acknowledged the urgency of the issue, indicating that political parties have raised similar concerns. Sharma’s PIL also calls for appointing a government nodal officer to manage deepfake complaints and advocates for clear disclosures of AI-generated content by platforms. He argued that current legislation does not adequately address the challenges posed by deepfakes.

An RTI request filed by the Indian express revealed that Sharma was not on the government's list of nominees but received the Padma Bhushan award at the recommendation of Arun Jaitley. He was President of the Delhi Cricket Association. However, he resigned only twenty months into his job citing corruption and various "pulls and pressures".

On 9 July 2024, he was unanimously elected as president for the News Broadcasters & Digital Association (NBDA) which is known as the largest organisation of news broadcasters and digital media in India. He replaced the NBDA's previous president, Avinash Pandey.

Awards

Defamation suit

In June 2024, Rajat Sharma faced allegations from Congress leaders Ragini Nayak, Jairam Ramesh, and Pawan Khera, who claimed that he used abusive language during a live broadcast on the day of the Lok Sabha election results. Following these accusations, Sharma filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court, seeking the removal of the tweets and videos in question. The Delhi High Court, after reviewing the case, ruled in favor of Sharma, stating that the continued presence of the alleged defamatory material could irreparably harm his reputation as a journalist. The court ordered the removal of the tweets and directed social media platforms to make the related videos private until the case was resolved. Sharma's legal team contended that the Congress leaders only began tweeting about the allegations six days after the broadcast, suggesting a coordinated effort to damage his reputation.

References

  1. "Aap ki Adalat: A Deserving Celebration of 21 Years". India TV News. Archived from the original on 6 February 2024.
  2. ^ "Rajat Sharma r's personal and professional life". Rajat Sharma. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  3. Mallick, Ashesh (10 March 2024). "Rajat Sharma shares unheard story of 1975 Emergency: 'I was beaten up and sent to Tihar Jail'". WATCH – India TV. Retrieved 16 January 2025.
  4. "News channel promises to be different". The Hindu. 19 April 2004. Archived from the original on 2 June 2004. Retrieved 6 February 2014.
  5. Kumari, Surbhi (23 March 2019). "India TV Chairman Rajat Sharma gives success tips to students of K.C. College, Mumbai". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  6. "Rajat Sharma, Chairman and editor-in-chief, India TV: 2017 promises positivity for news genre". The Financial Express. 27 December 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  7. ^ Dev, Atul; Donthi, Praveen (1 December 2016). "Our Man in the Studio". Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  8. Dev, Atul; Donthi, Praveen (1 December 2016). "Rajat Sharma's path to becoming India's most powerful editor-entrepreneur". The Caravan. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  9. Bhushan, Sandeep (4 July 2014). "The murky case of India TV and its anchor Tanu Sharma". Retrieved 15 September 2024.
  10. "Tanu Sharma harassment protest: Big issue draws low turnout".
  11. "Delhi High Court restrains use of 'Baap Ki Adalat', protects Rajat Sharma's personality rights". The Indian Express. 10 June 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  12. "HC stops 'Baap Ki Adalat' after journalist Rajat Sharma files suit". The Hindu. 11 June 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  13. ^ "Journalist Rajat Sharma files PIL in Delhi HC over deepfake videos - CNBC TV18". CNBCTV18. 8 May 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  14. "Delhi HC seeks Centre's reply to Rajat Sharma's plea against deepfake". The Hindu. 9 May 2024. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  15. "Journalist Rajat Sharma elected Delhi and District Cricket Association president". Hindustan Times. 2 July 2018. Retrieved 2 August 2022.
  16. "Rajat Sharma resigns as DDCA president, cites various 'pulls and pressures'". The Indian Express. 16 November 2019. Retrieved 2 January 2023.
  17. "India TV's Rajat Sharma elected as NBDA president". The Economic Times. 9 July 2024. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  18. "Your right to know: Many Padma award winners not from list of nominees". The Indian Express. 15 May 2016. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  19. Desk, India TV News (30 March 2015). "Bharat Ratna for Madan Mohan Rajat Sharma gets Padma Bhushan". www.indiatvnews.com. Retrieved 24 April 2019. {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  20. Singh, Rohini; Venugopal, Vasudha (16 February 2015). "Rajat Sharma: How owner and face of India TV became one of India's most powerful editors". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  21. Jha, Prashant (15 June 2024). "Delhi High Court orders removal of social media posts claiming Rajat Sharma abused Congress leader on TV". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  22. "Congress Leaders Ordered To Delete Social Media Posts Against Rajat Sharma". NDTV.com. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
  23. "Journalist Rajat Sharma files defamation case against Congress leaders, Delhi HC reserves order on interim relief - ET LegalWorld". ETLegalWorld.com. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
Padma Bhushan award recipients (2010–2019)
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
2018
2019
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