Madras High Court slams sexually inappropriate teaser of Bad Girl, calling it harmful to children. Court directs MeitY to ensure its urgent removal from YouTube.
Chennai: Today, on July 22, the Madras High Court has directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to take quick and strong action to remove the teaser of the film “Bad Girl” from YouTube.
This decision was made because the teaser showed scenes that could be harmful to children and seemed to involve sexual exploitation.
Three people had filed a petition in court, asking MeitY to instruct Google to remove the teaser not just from YouTube but also from all other platforms where it may be available.
The petitioners also requested the Court to direct the National Commission for Protection of Child Rights (NCPCR) and the National Commission for Women (NCW) to take necessary legal action in this matter.
Justice P. Dhanabal of the Madras High Court watched the teaser and noted that it could easily be accessed by anyone on YouTube, including children, because there were no restrictions.
The judge observed that such content can seriously affect the minds of children. He stated,
“The pictures hosted in the YouTube can be accessed by anybody and there are no restriction to the children to access and to see the said pictures. If the children see the said contents of the videos, certainly it will spoil the mind of the children. It is the duty of the State to protect the children in all respect. It is the social responsibility of every citizen to protect the children. Without social responsibility, the said obscene pictures have been uploaded in the social media. Therefore, it cannot be allowed to continue. As long as it is in existence and visible to children, the number of victims may be increased. Therefore, it should be removed immediately.”
Advocate Anandhapadmanabhan appeared in court for the petitioners, while Deputy Solicitor General K. Govindarajan represented the government respondents.
The Court strongly emphasised that both the State and the general public have a constitutional and social duty to protect children from exposure to such harmful material.
The Court highlighted that
“uploading such material online without accountability showed a lack of social responsibility and could potentially increase the number of child victims exposed to inappropriate content.”
Even though YouTube was not made a party in the case, the Court made it clear that this would not stop it from acting urgently in this matter. The Court said that MeitY has the legal power under the Information Technology Act to take steps and issue directions to YouTube for removing the teaser.
It further stated,
“MeitY, being the competent authority under the Information Technology Act, could act on the issue and issue necessary directives to YouTube for the prompt removal of the offensive material.”
The petitioners had pointed out that the teaser violated laws like the Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) Act and the Information Technology Act. They argued that the teaser had inappropriate and explicit content and needed urgent legal attention.
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They also mentioned that even though they had submitted complaints online, no action was taken by the authorities.
On the other hand, MeitY told the Court that it had not received any official complaint earlier. But it assured the Court that if a proper complaint is filed, it would take suitable legal action.
Meanwhile, Google argued that it was not directly involved in the uploading of the teaser and said that the petitioners should have included YouTube as a necessary party in the case.
However, the Court found the teaser to be clearly problematic and ordered that it must be removed from YouTube. It directed MeitY to inform YouTube and ensure the video is deleted from the platform. The Court clearly stated,
“Therefore, this Court directs the first respondent to take appropriate action to remove the above said obscene contents and videos of the movie ‘bad girl’ hosted in the YouTube either at or any other address within one month from the date of this order. The respondents 3 and 4 also look into the matter and monitor and to take appropriate steps in accordance with law to prevent any type of child pornography.”
The petitioners had also requested that criminal action be taken against the people responsible for uploading the teaser. But the Court said that no proper evidence or details had been provided to support this request.
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Therefore, the Court advised the petitioners to contact the appropriate police or law enforcement authorities to take further action.
Counsel for the Petitioner: Mr.Anandhapadmanabhan and Mr.B.Lenin Balu for M/s.Agam Legal
Counsel for the Respondent: Mr.K.Govindarajan Deputy Solicitor General, Mr.M.Sakthi Kumar Additional Public Prosecutor, Mr.G.Manoj Kumar
Case Title:
R Ramkumar and Others v. The Union of India and Others
Case No:
Writ Petition (MD)No.5562 of 2025
Read Order:
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