Allahabad High Court asks Google, Meta to remove 'objectionable' videos against Rambhadracharya

Lucknow: The Lucknow Bench of the Allahabad High Court on Saturday directed Meta and Google to remove within 48 hours allegedly objectionable videos circulating on social media against renowned Ramkatha narrator and Padma Vibhushan awardee Jagadguru Rambhadracharya.

A division bench comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Prashant Kumar passed the order while hearing a petition filed by Sharad Chandra Srivastava and others.

The court instructed the petitioners to provide the relevant URL links to the social media companies to facilitate the removal process. The next hearing in the case has been scheduled for November 11.

The petition alleged that one Shashank Shekhar, who operates multiple channels on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, has been posting derogatory and defamatory videos against Rambhadracharya, who is also the Vice Chancellor of the Jagadguru Swami Ram Bhadracharya Divyang University in Chitrakoot, Madhya Pradesh.

Despite objections raised by Rambhadracharya's followers, the videos reportedly remain online, and no action has been taken by the concerned platforms to remove them, it said.

The plea also urged the central and state governments to frame and strictly enforce rules for regulating social media platforms, highlighting the need to curb the spread of defamatory content online.

The petitioners contended that the content was not only defamatory but also mocked Rambhadracharya's disability, as he lost his eyesight in childhood.

During the hearing, the state government informed the court that the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities has already taken cognisance of the issue and issued a notice to Shekhar, directing him to appear before the commission on October 18.