New Delhi: Union Minister Hardeep Singh Puri’s daughter Himayani Puri has filed a defamation suit before the Delhi High Court seeking removal of online content that allegedly links her to disgraced financier and convicted child sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
Himani has sought a permanent injunction and Rs 10 crore in damages from several social media entities and unidentified individuals.
Himani has sought directions against several social media-based platforms and accounts for allegedly circulating defamatory content about her. The petitioner has asked the high court to pass orders to platforms such as X, Google, Meta and LinkedIn to take down what she described as “false and defamatory posts”.
The Petroleum and Natural Gas minister’s daughter has also sought Rs 10 crore in damages and asked the court to issue directions against unidentified parties through ‘John Doe’ or ‘Ashok Kumar’ to remove the alleged defamatory content from the internet.
Himani has contended
According to the defamation case, beginning February 22, 2026,
that several social media entities allegedly began circulating news claiming that she maintained direct or indirect business, financial, personal or other network associations with Epstein and/or his criminal activities.
According to her, the posts and reports also alleged that Real Partners LLC, where she was employed, received funding, financial benefits or tainted funds from Epstein or his associates. Some reports even alleged that Robert Millard acted in conjunction with Himani to engineer the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
“The Defendant Nos. 1 to 14 and several unidentified John Doe(s)/Ashok Kumar(s) have strategically propagated these unfounded allegations through sensationalist and manipulative formats, including edited videos, misleading captions, and doctored thumbnails, designed to maximise public outrage, digital virality, and consequent reputational harm to the Plaintiff,” the defamation suit states.
The petition claims that Himani is being targeted in a “coordinated and motivated manner” with the intention of maligning and discrediting her in India and globally.
“It is only because Mr Hardeep Singh Puri is currently a senior member of the Union Cabinet that his daughter, the Plaintiff, who is an exceptionally accomplished and self-reliant professional, is being viciously attacked,” the plea states.
The court is likely to hear the matter in the next couple of days.
