The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has issued notices to Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube, taking cognisance of an alleged objectionable video circulating on a YouTube channel and other social media platforms against Swami Ram Bhadracharya Ji Maharaj, the vice chancellor of Jagatguru Swami Ram Bhadracharya Divyang University in Chitrakoot.
The court has directed that a representation be submitted to the grievance redressal officers of these social media platforms within a week regarding the video being shown against the seer, and thereafter action be taken to remove the said objectionable video immediately.
A division bench of Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Brij Raj Singh passed the order on September 17 on the writ petition filed by Sharad Chandra Srivastava and others. Hearing the plea, the court also ordered the state commissioner for persons with disabilities to seek clarification from Shashank Shekhar, the editor of channel ‘Bedhadak Khabar’ on Facebook and Instagram, and to take appropriate action against him. The court will next hear the case on October 8, according to the order made available on Friday (September 19).
The petitioners requested that the central and state governments should enact a mechanism to regulate various social media platforms and strictly enforce them. Petitioners’ counsel Ranjana Agnihotri submitted that Gorakhpur based Shashank Shekhar runs the channel on Facebook and Instagram and that he has posted derogatory video against Swami Ram Bhadracharya on his YouTube channel as well as other social media platforms.
{{/usCountry}}The petitioners requested that the central and state governments should enact a mechanism to regulate various social media platforms and strictly enforce them. Petitioners’ counsel Ranjana Agnihotri submitted that Gorakhpur based Shashank Shekhar runs the channel on Facebook and Instagram and that he has posted derogatory video against Swami Ram Bhadracharya on his YouTube channel as well as other social media platforms.
{{/usCountry}}Despite repeated requests, neither has he removed the video nor have the relevant social media platforms taken any action. The petition also stated that Swamiji has been visually impaired since childhood, yet videos containing derogatory content regarding his disability are being circulated. A ban on the video has also been sought. After hearing the matter at length, the court said that prima facie, there is a case for action by the state commissioner working for the disabled against the said content.