The Delhi High Court criticised a YouTuber for missing a hearing in a copyright case involving alleged theft of a teacher’s notes. The Court said he was “playing games with the court” and showed disregard for proceedings.
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court expressed discontent on Wednesday regarding YouTuber Aman Dhattarwal‘s absence in a copyright case, where he is accused of using his former teacher’s notes without proper attribution in his online coaching classes.
An order issued on May 8 required both Dhattarwal and the teacher, Prem Prakash Dhawan, to appear in court on May 14.
However, Dhattarwal did not attend, with his lawyer citing professional commitments as the reason for his absence.
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The Court was not satisfied with this explanation.
Justice Amit Bansal remarked,
“He is playing games with the court. Your client has taken the court for a ride. Why has he not come to court?”
The Court also noted that Dhattarwal had declined to settle the matter or issue an apology. It subsequently instructed him to be present for the next hearing.
The Court stated,
“Despite the last order directing the defendant to be present, he is not present in court without giving any explanation. Court takes a serious view of the matter. It is directed that the Defendant shall be physically present in court. The Court records that defendant is not willing to give an apology,”
The case was initiated by Dhawan, a Chemistry teacher who has been creating notes for his students since 1994. He began digitizing these notes to enhance accessibility for his students.
In 2020, he discovered that Dhattarwal, an ex-student, had uploaded these notes on various platforms, including apnishikhsa.com, under his own name.
Dhawan alleged that Dhattarwal was using his notes without permission and without proper credit for financial gain.
Dhattarwal, who has over 4 million followers on YouTube, operates in the competitive exam coaching sector. In a previous interim order from 2020, the Court instructed Dhattarwal and Google to remove the allegedly infringing notes, determining that a prima facie case existed in Dhawan’s favor.
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Recently, the Court issued a notice regarding Dhawan’s application for the recovery and preservation of financial and revenue data related to 356 videos or weblinks containing content that allegedly infringed his copyright.
The Court, On May 8, had stated,
“In order to bring a closure to the matter, it is deemed appropriate if the plaintiff and the defendant no.1 are present in Court on the next date of hearing.”
However, due to Dhattarwal’s failure to appear, the hearing was adjourned until May 16, Friday.
Case Title: Shri Prem Prakash Dhawan V/S Mr. Aman Dhattarwal & Ors.
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