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The court granted interim relief to Divya and restrained Bayilvan Ranganathan from circulating the allegedly objectionable statements against her.
Bayilvan Ranganathan is restrained from circulating objectionable statements about Divya Sathyaraj.
Divya Sathyaraj, daughter of actor Sathyaraj and deputy secretary of the DMK’s Information Technology (IT) wing, has filed a ₹1 crore defamation suit against actor Bayilvan Ranganathan before the Madras High Court. She has alleged that he made defamatory remarks against her following her comments on marriage.
The case was heard by Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavathi on Thursday, September 24. The court granted interim relief to Divya and restrained Bayilvan Ranganathan from circulating the allegedly objectionable statements against her. The court also directed Google LLC, Facebook India Online Services Private Limited and X Corp to prevent the dissemination of the statements on their respective platforms.
What Is The Case About?
As reported by The Hindu, the controversy began after Divya Sathyaraj spoke about marriage and relationships in an interview with a YouTube channel. She expressed the view that couples should stay together because of their love for each other rather than simply because they are married.
“They should be together because they are crazy about each other, not because they are married… I don’t belive in this corporate wedding of getting married on the basis of religion, horoscope, and so on. In fact, I don’t have a horoscope at all because my father does not believe in such things,” she said.
Divya has alleged that Bayilvan Ranganathan subsequently responded to her interview and made statements about her that she described as false and defamatory. The remarks were reportedly made in an interview on the YouTube channel Puthiya Sinthanai.
In her lawsuit, Divya has sought ₹1 crore in damages from Ranganathan and Mohideen, the proprietor of the Puthiya Sinthanai YouTube channel. She has also sought 12% interest on the claimed damages from the date of filing of the suit until the amount is realised.
At A Glance
Divya Sathyaraj filed a ₹1 crore defamation suit against actor Bayilvan Ranganathan.
The Madras High Court heard the case on Thursday, September 24.
Justice K. Govindarajan Thilakavathi granted interim relief to Divya Sathyaraj.
Bayilvan Ranganathan is restrained from circulating objectionable statements.
Google LLC, Facebook India, and X Corp were directed to prevent dissemination of the statements.
Apart from monetary damages, Divya has also sought a permanent injunction preventing Ranganathan from making, publishing, broadcasting or circulating allegedly defamatory statements against her in the future.
She also sought an interim injunction against Google, Facebook and X to prevent the continued hosting or circulation of the allegedly objectionable interview and statements on their platforms.
What Did The Madras High Court Say?
During the hearing, the court found that Divya’s counsel, D Ravichander, had established a prima facie case warranting interim protection. The court observed that Divya, who is a nutritionist involved in politics and social activities, could suffer significant harm to her reputation and goodwill if the interim injunction was not granted while the defamation suit remains pending.
The court also held that the balance of convenience was in favour of granting the interim relief. Accordingly, Bayilvan Ranganathan has now been restrained from circulating the allegedly objectionable statements, while Google, Facebook and X were directed to prevent their dissemination through their platforms.
However, it should be noted that ₹1 crore defamation claim itself remains pending before the Madras High Court as of now.
Quick Answers
Ask News18Divya Sathyaraj filed a Rs 1 crore defamation suit against actor Bayilvan Ranganathan after he made alleged defamatory and false remarks about her in response to her interview comments on marriage and relationships.
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Chirag Sehgal works as a Chief Sub-Editor in the Entertainment team at News18.com. He has a strong expertise in content creation, digital storytelling and social media strategy. Skilled in covering ce…Read More
September 25, 2026, 08:25 IST