The Allahabad High Court has ordered Meta Platforms and Google LLC to remove abusive online content targeting Padma Vibhushan awardee Swami Rambhadracharya. Platforms must act within 48 hours once petitioners provide the specific URLs.
Prayagraj: The Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, on October 8, 2025, directed social media giants Meta Platforms, Inc. and Google LLC to remove objectionable content targeting Padma Vibhushan awardee and spiritual leader Swami Rambhadracharya.
The court ordered that the content must be taken down within 48 hours after the petitioners provide the specific URL links of the material.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justices Shekhar B. Saraf and Prashant Kumar in response to a petition filed by Sharad Chandra Srivastava and seven others, all disciples of Swami Rambhadracharya.
The petitioners had approached the court seeking the removal of defamatory, abusive, and insulting content that was being circulated on various social media platforms against the spiritual leader.
A video uploaded on August 29, 2025, by Gorakhpur-based YouTuber Shashank Shekhar, who runs the channel Bedhadak Khabar, titled “Rambhadracharya par Khulasa, 16 saal pahle kya hua tha,” allegedly contained derogatory remarks about the 74-year-old spiritual scholar.
Swami Rambhadracharya, who has been blind since infancy, is widely respected for his significant contributions to Sanskrit literature, education, and the rights of persons with disabilities.
The video was shared widely across platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Google.
Earlier, on September 17, 2025, the court had issued directions to Facebook India, Instagram India, Google, and YouTube to immediately remove the defamatory content and ensure compliance through their grievance redressal officers.
At that time, the court observed that
“despite detailed representations and a cease-and-desist notice served by the petitioners on September 3, neither the authorities nor the platforms had acted.”
The bench had also instructed the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Lucknow, to initiate proceedings against the YouTuber under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, noting that the material prima facie warranted intervention.
When the matter was taken up again on October 8, the counsel representing Meta Platforms informed the court that the company could not comply with the earlier direction without receiving the specific URLs of the objectionable content.
The division bench accepted this submission and clarified that
“once the URLs are furnished, Meta Platforms must take down the content within 48 hours.”
The court also directed the petitioners to provide any additional URLs to Google LLC for removal, apart from those already listed in the writ petition. Counsel representing Google stated that the link mentioned in the petition had already been deleted.
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On the issue of state action, Additional Chief Standing Counsel Pankaj Khare, appearing for the State of Uttar Pradesh, informed the bench that pursuant to the earlier order, a notice had been issued to the YouTuber by the Office of the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), requiring him to appear before the Deputy Commissioner on October 18, 2025.
The court allowed the respondents three weeks to file their counter-affidavits and gave the petitioners one additional week to submit their rejoinders. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 11, 2025.
Case Title:
Sharad Chandra Srivastava & 7 Others Vs. State Of U.P. Through Principal Secretary, Home Department, Lucknow & 9 Others
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