New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Tuesday directed the removal of alleged defamatory content from social media platforms against BJP spokesperson and senior advocate Gaurav Bhatia in connection with an incident at a Noida court where he was “manhandled”.
The high court said while the threshold of public criticism and alleged defamatory posts on social media platforms is much higher, individual dignity and honour cannot be allowed to be defamed on the grounds of the right to free speech and expression.
The court passed the order on an application by Bhatia for interim relief to take down the offending content from social media platforms.
Justice Neena Bansal Krishna condemned the manhandling incident and said the advocates may have been on strike in the Gautam Buddh Nagar court, but when plaintiff Bhatia was informed about it he agreed to an adjournment which was also granted.
“In these circumstances, pulling his band or manhandling as has been stated by him in his plaint, were the most reprehensible/ condemnable act committed upon him,” the high court said.
The court said the press and the media had a duty to report this incident for the benefit of the public, but there was also a corresponding duty to remain truthful about the incident.
The deepfake videos showing Bhatia being beaten up and the claims of the plaintiff are nothing but an over-sensationalisation and depiction of facts that are patently false, it said.
The court said dissemination of such videos has not only caused harm to his reputation but also has the potential of persistent threat of being aired and used against him in future and the content is liable to be restrained from being kept in the public domain till the suit is finally decided.
It said an irreparable loss and injury would be caused to the plaintiff if the deepfake videos and posts are allowed to be in the public domain and no harm would be caused to defendants if the material is restrained from being in the public domain.
The suit was filed against several YouTube channels and X (formerly Twitter) handles.
The high court directed that the content posted on several handles that have not contested or appeared in the proceedings shall be removed by the intermediaries concerned.
Other videos, which have been now made private, are restrained from being made available to the public without judicial orders, the court said.
The court had earlier issued summons to 13 defendant YouTube channels and X handles on the defamation suit. It had also issued notices to X and Google.
Bhatia, represented through advocates Raghav Awasthi and Mukesh Sharma, sought a direction to the 13 defendants to pay over Rs 2 crore in damages for allegedly making defamatory statements against him using X and YouTube platforms.
He also sought a permanent injunction against the defendants by restraining them from publishing any defamatory allegations against Bhatia.
On March 21, the apex court took note of the alleged manhandling of Bhatia in the Gautam Buddh Nagar district court on March 20.
It had directed the district judge concerned to ensure that the CCTV footage of the incident is in safe custody, pending further orders. It also ordered that a report be submitted on the incident.
The top court had said a strike by the members of the bar affected the litigants who are vital stakeholders in the justice system. The Supreme Court Bar Association had also condemned the misconduct of a lawyer in the district court against Bhatia.
