The Aaj Tak anchor has moved the Delhi High Court with a civil defamation suit after a primetime debate about online "star teachers" detonated into one of the ugliest media-versus-educator wars India's internet has seen.
What began as a pointed prime-time monologue has arrived at the gates of the Delhi High Court — with a price tag of ₹2 crore. Senior journalist and Aaj Tak managing editor Anjana Om Kashyap, along with her employer TV Today Network, has filed a civil defamation suit against competitive-exam educator Faisal Khan — universally known as Khan Sir — and seven other defendants. The suit, formally titled ANJANA OM KASHYAP & ANR v. FAISAL KHAN & ORS, is listed for hearing before a vacation bench of Justice Neena Bansal Krishna in the Delhi High Court.
The legal filing lands at a moment when Khan Sir is already navigating a separate police case in Bihar, making this arguably the most legally turbulent week in the Patna educator's career. For Kashyap, it marks a significant escalation of what she frames not just as a personal attack but as a coordinated digital campaign designed to intimidate a working journalist.
The Spark: A Debate That Set the Internet on Fire
The chain of events traces back to the evening of May 29, 2026, when Anjana Om Kashyap hosted a live debate on Aaj Tak about the NEET examination system — a topic already raw with controversy following renewed allegations of paper leaks in NEET-UG 2026. During the broadcast, she turned her focus to the booming ecosystem of online coaching influencers, labelling them "frauds" and "explainers" who sketch on blackboards not to teach but to "grab views, do drama, and make money." She used the Hindi phrase do kaudi ke — roughly, "not worth two pennies" — to characterise them.
The clip went viral within hours. For millions of Indian students — particularly from smaller towns where private coaching is unaffordable — YouTube educators like Khan Sir, Abhinay Sharma, and others are not peripheral figures; they are the primary route to cracking national-level competitive exams. The remarks were received as an attack not just on the teachers but on the students who swear by them.
"These educators know nothing. They have started believing they are an important voice on every subject."— Anjana Om Kashyap, Aaj Tak broadcast, May 29, 2026 (as reported)
Khan Sir Fires Back — And That Became the Problem
Khan Sir's response was swift, pointed — and, according to the defamation suit, crossed a legal line. In videos and social media posts circulated between May 30 and June 4, he allegedly referred to Kashyap using phrases that now form the centrepiece of the legal complaint.
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The suit contends these were not merely sharp criticism but deliberate reputational attacks broadcast to millions of followers, constituting civil defamation. Critically, the petition also alleges that Khan Sir publicly disclosed the name of the school attended by Kashyap's child — a detail the suit argues had zero relevance to the public debate and instead exposed the journalist's family to harassment and security risks.
"The campaign has transcended criticism and resulted in serious injury to the reputation, dignity, privacy, safety and well-being of the Plaintiffs and their family members."— Excerpt from the defamation petition, Delhi High Court
Who Is Being Sued — and What Relief Is Sought
The suit is notably broad. Alongside Khan Sir, the defendants include educator Abhinay Sharma (of Abhinay Maths fame), Babita Tyagi, Arvind Bhadauriya, several X (formerly Twitter) handles, and the 4PM News Network. In total, eight parties have been named — a deliberate signal that the complaint is about the coordinated campaign rather than any single remark.
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The Larger Canvas: Media vs. Digital Educators
It would be reductive to treat this only as a legal dispute between two individuals. The Anjana–Khan Sir standoff is the sharpest expression yet of a structural tension that has been building for years inside India's information ecosystem.
Online educators like Khan Sir have built audiences that rival — and in some cases dwarf — mainstream news channels. Khan Sir's own YouTube subscriber count runs into the tens of millions, and his commentary on national issues, from NEET paper leaks to government policy, commands enormous organic reach. When an anchor on an established news channel challenges the credibility of these educators, it is not just a professional disagreement: it is a turf battle.
Whether Kashyap's original remarks constituted fair journalistic commentary or an unfair smear is a question reasonable people disagree on. What is not in dispute is that the response from the online educator community was massive, coordinated, and — according to the suit — at points crossed from criticism into something more personal and targeted.
₹2 Crore Defamation Claim: Anjana Om Kashyap Moves High Court https://t.co/cKfLAhNPid via @Live India #AnjanaOmKashyap #KhanSir #DelhiHighCourt #DefamationCase #TVTodayNetwork #AajTak #FaisalKhan #SocialMediaControversy #OnlineCampaign #MediaLawsuit #AbhinaySharma
— LIVE INDIA (@LIVEINDIA_En) June 8, 2026
Timeline: From Broadcast to Courtroom
- May 29 – 30, 2026Anjana Om Kashyap hosts NEET debate on Aaj Tak, refers to online educators as "frauds" and "do kaudi ke." Clip goes viral.
- May 30 – June 4, 2026Khan Sir, Abhinay Sharma, and other educators post rebuttal videos. Alleged defamatory terms including "bikau patrakar" and "dalaal" surface. Khan Sir reportedly reveals the name of Kashyap's child's school.
- June 2, 2026Separately, violence erupts at Khan Sir's coaching institute, Khan Global Studies, in Patna. An FIR is registered; Khan Sir is named in it.
- June 7, 2026Anjana Om Kashyap and TV Today Network file ₹2 crore civil defamation suit in Delhi High Court against Khan Sir and seven others.
- June 8, 2026Matter listed for hearing before Justice Neena Bansal Krishna's vacation bench. Khan Sir's legal team simultaneously prepares anticipatory bail plea in the Patna case.
Khan Sir's Simultaneous Legal Storm in Bihar
The Delhi defamation suit arrives at one of the worst possible moments for Faisal Khan. His Patna coaching institute, Khan Global Studies, was the site of violence on the night of June 2 — incidents that Patna Police later linked to a rivalry with another coaching operator. Khan Sir's name was included in the FIR, and Patna's Senior Superintendent of Police Kartikeya Sharma confirmed he had been questioned. Two security guards seen in a viral video were arrested.
Khan Sir's legal team has stated he will not surrender before the Patna Civil Court and instead plans to seek anticipatory bail. His lawyer, Arvind Kumar Mahuar, said the bail plea would be filed on Monday, June 8, and characterised the case as a conspiracy to damage his reputation. The rival coaching operator, Roshan Anand of Gyan Bindu, was arrested as the main accused in the vandalism case.
What This Case Could Mean Going Forward
Courts in India have generally held that public figures — journalists and educators alike — must tolerate robust criticism. The threshold for establishing civil defamation is not trivial, and Khan Sir's defence will likely argue that his remarks were fair comment in response to Kashyap's own public attack. The disclosure of the child's school, however, introduces a personal dimension that is legally distinct from standard public-interest commentary — and may prove the most consequential element of the suit.
More broadly, the case is likely to set a precedent — or at least raise important questions — about where criticism of journalists ends and defamation begins in the age of social media, where a remark in a YouTube video can reach ten million people within twenty-four hours. The ₹2 crore figure is also significant: while not unprecedented in Indian civil defamation cases, it represents a statement about the seriousness of the harm alleged.
The next few weeks will reveal whether the court issues an interim order directing takedown of content while the case proceeds — or whether it finds insufficient grounds to restrict speech pending a full hearing. Either outcome will have implications well beyond this particular quarrel.
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