It is definitely completely unaffordable to miss out reading the enriching profile of eminent and learned Delhi High Court Judge – Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Dhirenbhai Karia in its entirety as published in the “Bar and Bench” website by a woman writer – Giti Pratap in the “Spotlight” column which has been written most elegantly and exceptionally well which sheds very detailed enlightening light on his entire career and lays bare how he has definitely earned a very distinct identity for himself by delivering most erudite judgments about which I was aware but not so completely aware of! It is undoubtedly entirely in the fitness of things that while catching the bull by the horns, the Delhi High Court in a most learned, laudable, landmark, logical and latest judgment titled Badminton Association of India vs Union of India & Anr in W.P.(C) 8284/2026 & CM No. 39105/2026 that was pronounced just recently on 19.06.2026 and downloaded from the DHC Server on 20.06.2026 has most boldly ordered the removal of fake reports and social media content claiming that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Hon’ble Mr Surya Kant, dozens of other Judges and Union Ministers travelled to London on public expense to play in a Badminton tournament. It must be noted that the Single Judge Bench comprising of Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia who authored this notable judgment most commendably has directed the government to issue notifications requiring social media platforms, search engines, digital publishers, and other intermediaries to remove, disable and de-index the “false, malicious and derogatory” content within 24 hours. It must be laid bare that the Bench passed the order on a petition that had been filed by the Badminton Association of India (BAI), which sought the removal of news reports, social media posts, videos and other publications that published the fake news. The Bench has kept the matter for compliance on July 17.
We need to note that Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia of Delhi High Court was born on February 1, 1978 in Ahmedabad, Gujarat to a family of Judges and lawyers. He also decided to follow in his family’s footsteps more as a choice rather than compulsion and excelled in it by virtue of his sheer intelligence and hard work! He decided to pursue law after completing his schooling and pursued his LLB from ILS Law College, University of Pune (2000) and so also did his LLM in Corporate Law from University of Gujarat (2002) and so also then did his LLM in International Arbitration and Information Technology Laws from London School of Economics (2003).
It is worth paying singular unremitting attention that Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia first and foremost started his practice at the Ahmedabad City Civil Courts and then also went on to practice before the Gujarat High Court in Ahmedabad and so also several other Trial Courts and various Tribunals in the State of Gujarat. It also merits noting that he was selected for conducting a court martial as special defence counsel who was appointed by the Indian Army. It also cannot be lost sight of that he brings with him a wealth of expertise from his extensive background in arbitration and information technology law which helped him in making him stand distinct from others.
It also definitely has to be taken into account that he has been recognized in ‘Band 2” for arbitration by Chambers & Partners and as a ‘Thought Leader’ and ‘Global Leader’ by Who’s Who Legal: Arbitration. He is recognized as ‘Distinguished Lawyer’ in dispute resolution by Asia Law Profiles. He is dual- qualified as an Advocate in India and a Solicitor in England & Wales and is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (CIArb), London and a Specialist Mediator with SIMC, Singapore.
He is also amongst Top 100 Lawyers in India and Legal 500 as ‘Leading Individual’ for Arbitration. He has achieved whatever he has achieved by his own grit and determination and relentless efforts earning deep expertise in whatever he did! He is also a member of Governing Council of Indian Law Society, Director and Convenor of Indian Arbitration Forum and Vice Chairperson of Society of Construction Law – India. He has also co-authored numerous publications and so also regularly speaks at international seminars and workshops on arbitration invited as Special Guest to speak!
It would be worthwhile to note that it was in 2004 that Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia decided to shift from Ahmedabad to Delhi and joined the erstwhile Amarchand Mangaldas & Co. where he performed exceptionally well. It was at this firm that he also appeared before the Supreme Court and High Courts and so also in front of different Tribunals all across India. He also robustly represented multinational and Indian corporations in domestic and international commercial arbitrations as a counsel, both in ad hoc and institutional arbitrations with seats in India, London and Singapore.
To be sure, he also has extensive skilled experience in handling disputes across sectors, including oil and gas, real estate, hospitality, construction and also arising out of shareholders agreements, joint ventures and private equity investments. He has also been involved in and argued landmark cases that pertained to arbitration before Indian High Courts and the Supreme Court of India. He has also specialized in the fields of International and Domestic Commercial Arbitrations and as he acquired more and more experience he was considered fully competent to head the Arbitration practice as Partner at Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas & Co (SAM). During his time at SAM, he also represented Meta (formerly Facebook) before various courts in several high profile matters which often had to do with data privacy.
Notably, it cannot be just glossed over that while he was still a lawyer, he also contributed to the drafting of legislation as advisor to the Law Commission of India for the 2015 amendments to the Arbitration Act which is definitely a big feat in itself. While adding yet another big feather in his cap, in 2019, we saw he was also inducted into the Singapore International Arbitration Centre’s (SIAC) Court of Arbitration. He was also a member of ICC Commission on Arbitration and Alternative Dispute Resolution (ADR). In addition, he was also a member of the High-Powered Committee for the institutionalization of arbitration in India in 2019, the Expert Committee for reforms in the Arbitration Act in 2024 and appeared before the Parliamentary Committee for the Commercial Courts Act and Mediation Act. He also led the team which handled the Ashneer Grover-Bharat Pe dispute before SIAC.
For the uninitiated, it must be disclosed here that Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia was recommended for elevation by the Delhi High Court Collegium on 25 October 2023 and by the Supreme Court Collegium on 29 August 2024. It must be also revealed here that the Government of India cleared his appointment on 12 February 2025. It was finally on February 14, 2025 exactly two weeks after he turned 47 years old that he was appointed as a Judge of one of the most prestigious High Court in our nation that is the Delhi High Court and this is now no doubt a very big feather again in his cap and I definitely for one won’t be amazed if his sharp intellect and impeccable conduct one day sees him making to the top post of the Chief Justice of India!
By any reckoning, what truly differentiates and sets him apart from the Judges earlier in Delhi High Court and so also the other High Courts is that he is one of the first Judges in India to come from a law firm and so also from an arbitration background and the increasing importance of arbitration in dispute settlement is acknowledged all across the globe! While calling for a fundamental shift in how global corporations and legal systems approach conflict, none other than the Chief Justice of India – Hon’ble Mr Justice Surya Kant said most elegantly that, “The primary question for a modern corporation should no longer be where to litigate, but rather how to resolve.” What merits noting is that the CJI also most explicitly said that, “Courts, arbitration and mediation should not be viewed as competing mechanisms but as complementary institutions serving distinct functions within a broader justice ecosystem. We must reject the archaic narrative that pits alternative dispute resolution against the majesty of formal courts. Traditional courts must continue to remain the ultimate guardians of public legal standard-setting and constitutional accountability. Yet, where the court provides the architecture of certainty, mediation serves as the adaptive mechanism for private commercial harmony. The two systems do not diminish one another; they sustain each other.”
It would be worthwhile to note that within an year and a few months, he has authored numerous leading judgments which have been applauded also and received wide media coverage also. It is worth noting that while Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia began his stint at the Delhi High Court on a Division Bench along with Hon’ble Mr Justice Vibhu Bakhru who is now Karnataka High Court Chief Justice, he was quickly assigned a single-Bench where he also handled suits for the protection of personality rights. He granted orders in favours of cine actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan.
He also passed orders protecting several OTT streaming platforms against privacy. In this context, we must recall that in November 2025, he granted an interim injunction to JioStar against unauthorized streaming of the two international cricket series by rogue websites and mobile apps. He also ordered suspension of at least 30 websites which allegedly allowed users to download copyrighted content from various streaming platforms on a petition that had been filed by music company Saregama.
While coming down heavily on copyright infringement he also opined that such copyright infringement ought to be prevented as early as possible as they can quickly turn “hydra-headed” and granted dynamic injunctions in favour of Warner Bros, Netflix, Apple, Disney and Crunchyroll to stop the piracy of their copyrighted content. He also in the leading case titled “Associated Broadcasting Company Limited Vs Google LLC & Ors” while stepping forward protected Indian media organization TV9 Network from “groundless” copyright infringement threats and copyright strikes on YouTube. There are many more such judgments which he has authored and gave most progressive and pragmatic judgments and it is just not possible to discuss all of them here.
In 2026, Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia has been sitting on Division Bench of Delhi High Court led by Hon’ble The Chief Justice Mr Devendra Kumar Upadhyaya and delivered many landmark judgments. What captivated my heart most was when the Division Bench of both of them while catching the bull by the horns boldly stepped in to ensure that the famous woman wrestler Vinesh Phogat was allowed to participate in the Asian Games 2026 selection trials. Most commendably, the Division Bench noted that Phogat could not meet the Wrestling Federation of India’s (WFI) “exclusionary” selection policy only because she was on maternity leave and said that motherhood cannot become a ground for exclusion or marginalization of female athletes.
No less commendable is that the Division Bench also rapped knuckles on the head of the WFI for issuing a “deplorable” show-cause notice to Phogat which referred to her disqualification from the Paris Olympics for being overweight as a “national shame”. The Division Bench took most strong objection to the choice of words that had been used by the WFI and said that it revealed mala fide on WFI’s part! In February 2026, the Division Bench slammed hard NGO Save India Foundation for filing repeated PILs against mosques and dargahs challenging decades-old notifications of waqf properties. The Division Bench also expressed huge displeasure over lawyers’ contact details being made public and allegedly being misused by candidates contesting the Bar Council of Delhi (BCD) elections who sent many unsolicited campaign messages.
In conclusion, it definitely needs no rocket scientist to conclude that Hon’ble Mr Justice Tejas Karia of Delhi High Court has not only just an illustrious track record but he has definitely also earned a very distinct identity. He has just in 2025 last year started his innings as a Judge. He has a very long way to go. I am fully sure that the absolute flawless manner in which he has been delivering so many landmark judgments are all a pointer to the indisputable fact that he will prove himself indubitably as a “class apart” from most of the Judges in India! I wish him always the very best in his long journey which he has started as a Judge of Delhi High Court!
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