Maharashtra Cyber seeks removal of offensive Sambhaji Maharaj content on Wikipedia

The Maharashtra Cyber has issued a notice Wikipedia Foundation to remove "objectionable" content on Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj.

The Maharashtra Cyber has issued a notice to the US-based Wikipedia Foundation to remove "objectionable" content on Maratha Empire king Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj from the Wikipedia page, reports said on Wednesday.

The action comes after several groups complained about the platform's alleged defamatory content concerning Sambhaji Maharaj

The action comes after several groups complained about the platform's alleged defamatory content concerning Sambhaji Maharaj, according to a news agency PTI report.

The objections comes under light amid the Hindi film “Chhava” running on theatres, based on the life of Sambhaji Maharaj, the son of Maratha empire founder Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj.

The notice comes after Maharashtra chief minister Devendra Fadnavis contacted Maharashtra Cyber to contact Wikipedia and ask for the removal of the objectionable content.

A cyber and information security division reportedly sent a notice to the Wikimedia Foundation in California and requested the removal of the objectionable content about Sambhaji Maharaj, officials said.

“The notice was sent under section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act and section 168 (Prevention of cognisable offences) of Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS).”

The notice highlighted that the content on Wikipedia was ‘inaccurate’ and didn't have proper attributions or references inciting communal hatred as Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj is highly revered in India.

Due to the gravitas on the matter and its potential impact, Maharashtra Cyber directed Wikimedia to take a swift action, and restricting upload of the following content in future.

The notice states, “This notice is being served on you under section 79 (3) (b) of IT Act 2000 r/w the Information and Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules 2011, which makes you liable to be charged under section 85(2) of the Information Technology Act 2000.”

In a statement on Tuesday, Fadnavis stated that the government would not stand for historical misrepresentations on public websites such as Wikipedia. Additionally, he said that the government might exert pressure on Wikipedia to create rules that would prevent such errors, given that the website is run by volunteers and is not based in India.