Hardeep Puri’s daughter files ₹10 crore defamation case over posts linking her to Jeffrey Epstein
Himayani Puri, daughter of Union Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri, has filed a defamation suit in the Delhi High Court seeking the removal of online content that allegedly links her to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein.
In her plea, Puri has sought ₹10 crore in damages and a permanent injunction against several social media platforms over what she described as false and defamatory allegations circulating online.
According to the suit, multiple posts on social media have claimed that she had financial or network associations with Epstein or his criminal activities. Puri told the court that such claims are completely baseless and damaging to her reputation.
She has urged the court to direct social media intermediaries, including Google, Meta, LinkedIn and the platform X, to remove the content and take down similar posts when they are brought to their notice.
The petition states that the allegedly defamatory content began surfacing on social media from February 22, 2026.
The posts claimed that Puri had direct or indirect business, financial, personal or other network links with Epstein and his activities.
The suit also refers to claims circulating online that a firm where Puri had worked, Real Partners LLC, received financial benefits or funding from Epstein or his associates.
Some posts further alleged that businessman Robert Millard acted in concert with Puri in matters related to the collapse of Lehman Brothers.
Puri has denied all such allegations, stating in the suit that they are “entirely false, malicious and devoid of any factual foundation”.
She argued that the posts were designed to maximise public outrage and digital virality while causing reputational harm.
The plea further alleges that she is being targeted in a coordinated manner because she is the daughter of a senior Union minister.
The matter is expected to come up for hearing before the Delhi High Court on Tuesday.
The controversy comes amid renewed scrutiny of documents known as the “Epstein Files”, a large set of emails and photographs released by the US government that detail interactions between Epstein and several influential figures around the world.
Earlier, Hardeep Singh Puri had also faced political criticism over email exchanges with Epstein in 2014 and 2015.
Speaking to NDTV, the minister said he had no knowledge of Epstein’s criminal conduct at the time and rejected suggestions that his correspondence implied any wrongdoing.
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