A practicing advocate in Delhi High Court served a legal notice of defamation to the Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of the India Today Group, for ‘demeaning’ the tragic loss of deceased Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

MS Dhoni’s claim to fame actor Sushant Singh Rajput died on the afternoon of June 14 after he was found hanging at his home in Mumbai’s Bandra locality. The untimely death of the 34-year-old budding actor sent shockwaves across the country and caused a stir especially in the film fraternity.

While everyone was condoling the death of the young actor, some media house’s reportage stooped to a new level of insensitivity.

Following his death, Aaj Tak, a channel of the India Today Group flashed a headline allegedly comparing the death of the actor with a hit wicket during a cricket match.

‘By this comment, Aaj Tak has insinuated that the death of Mr. Sushant by suicide, is equivalent to that of a batsman in cricket who breaks his own wicket with his bat or any part of his person while playing the ball or setting off for a run. The careless use of such language portrays that the news channel, Aaj Tak, with its high viewership, has shed its responsibility towards the Indian masses,’ the notice read in a report by the Live law.

At a time when the investigation into the cause of the actor’s death is underway, the news channel’s uncorroborated statements acted as a big blow to the integrity of the actor. The legal notice further accused the channel of negligent reporting which seem to normalize the act.

Actor Mohit Singh too asked the news channel to retract their statements and issue an apology for hurting the sentiments of the deceased’s family and also for spreading misinformation about mental health issues, failing to do which he warned them would lead to legal action against the India group.

Also Read: Sensational Images, Deplorable Headlines: How News Channels Reported Sushant Singh Rajput’s Death