The Delhi High Court has directed a social media account to promptly delete a viral post targeting advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party leader Gaurav Bhatia. The order came after his appearance on a television news programme triggered widespread online reactions.
The Delhi High Court ordered the social media account Ranting Gola to immediately remove a post concerning advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Gaurav Bhatia after his appearance on a television news programme, which had gone viral online.
The order stems from a defamation case filed by Bhatia.
The court’s bench directed Shamita Yadav, the user behind the account “Ranting Gola,” to take down the post right away, observing that leaving it on the platform X would prejudice Bhatia.
Bhatia’s complaint was that the account had uploaded another post on December 19, which allegedly amounted to a willful breach of an interim order issued in his defamation suit on September 25, as reported by the legal news outlet.
Counsel for Yadav told the court that her client is a content creator and is not affiliated with any political party.
The counsel argued that the post was satirical and protected under the right to free expression.
The lawyer also claimed that the posts referred to on Friday were not covered by the court’s September injunction order. However, the bench expressed reservations, the outlet reported.
In September, the BJP leader appeared on a programme. During the broadcast, a camera shot showed him wearing a kurta without pyjamas or pants. The video clip was widely circulated on social media. Later, Bhatia stated that he had been wearing shorts.
Earlier, on September 25, the High Court had indicated it would issue directions to remove allegedly defamatory posts and videos on social media related to Bhatia’s television appearance. A bench led by Justice Amit Bansal stated that if the users who uploaded the content did not remove it, intermediary platforms such as Google and X, which host the material, would be directed to take it down.
Bhatia’s counsel had argued that the content was taken in the privacy of Bhatia’s home and should not have been shared without his consent. Bhatia also claimed he was disturbed by posts referring to “male private parts” and by the use of offensive language by the Samajwadi Party’s social media unit. His counsel had contended that such wording should not be used in public discourse.
He further maintained that the posts could not be treated as free speech and amounted to defamation.
Case Title: Gaura Bhatia v. Samajwadi party Media Cell & Ors