The Lucknow bench of Allahabad High court on Saturday directed Meta and Google to remove certain allegedly offensive videos against Jagatguru Swami Rambhadracharya, chancellor of Swami Rambhadracharya Divyanga university, Chitrakoot, from social media within 48 hours. the division bench, comprising justice shekhar B. Saraf and Justice Prashant Kumar, passed this order based on a petition filed by Sharad Chandra Shrivastava and others. The videos in question were circulating widely on social media platforms and were considered objectionable, targeting the revered spiritual leader. the court emphasized the need to prevent the spread of such content that could harm the reputation of swami rambhadracharya. Authorities were instructed to ensure compliance with the 48-hour deadline for removing the videos from all online platforms.
The high court bench directed Meta platforms Inc. and google to obtain URL links from the petitioners and remove objectionable content against swami rambhadrcharya within 48 hours. the court noted that the videos circulating online were defamatory and could harm the reputation of the spiritual leader. The petitioners provided specific URLs of the content, which the court ordered the platforms to block or delete promptly. the bench emphasized that compliance with this directive was mandatory and should be completed within the stipulated time frame to prevent further circulation. The court also scheduled the next hearing in the matter for November 11, during which it will review the actions taken by Meta and Google in response to its order.
Petitioners Sharad Chandra Srivastva and other informed the court that Gorakhpur based YouTuber Shashank Shekhar Uploaded disrespectful videos on his YouTube channel, distorting pas incidents related to Swami Rambhadracharya. they claimed that the videos were misleading and intended to defame the spiritual leader. Despite repeated complaints to the platforms, the petitioners alleged that no effective action was taken by the Meta or Google, allowing the videos to continue circulating widely and go viral. the petition highlighted the platforms negligence in addressing the issue promptly, emphasizing the harm caused to swami rambhadracharya reputation. the court was urged to ensure immediate removal of the objectionable content and prevent further dissemination of such misleading videos online.
The petition alleges that YouTube Shashank Shekhar has been posting insulting and defamatory videos against Swami Rambhadracharya. Despite several objections, the videos have not been removed, and the concerned social media platforms have failed to take any action to delete the objectionable content from their sites.
