Defamatory videos against Ramdev: Delhi HC admits Facebook plea against globally blocking content

Facebook, represented by senior advocate Kapil Sibal, submitted that it should direct Ramdev not to initiate contempt action against it while the appeal was pending. The counsel appearing for Ramdev assured that no contempt action would be initiated against the social media platform.

The single judge’s direction had come on a suit filed by Ramdev, who has sought global blocking of videos on social media platforms – Facebook, Google, its subsidiary YouTube, and Twitter – which contain defamatory, disparaging and threatening statements against him and Patanjali Ayurved Ltd.

None of the platforms have any objection to blocking the URLs (Uniform Resource Locator) and disabling the same, insofar as access in India is concerned. However, they raised objections to removal/blocking/disabling the content on a global basis.
But the single judge order on October 23 directed the social media platforms “to take down, remove block, restrict/disable access, on a global basis, to all such videos/weblinks/URLs” which have been uploaded from Internet Protocol (IP) addresses within India against Ramdev.

“All offending material, which has therefore been uploaded from within India on to the Defendants’ computer resource or computer network, would have to be disabled and blocked on a global basis. Since the unlawful act in case of content uploaded from India is committed from within India, a global injunction shall operate in respect of such content.

“In case of uploads which take place from outside India, the unlawful act would be the dissemination of such content in India, and thus in those cases the platforms may resort to geo-blocking,” Justice Pratibha M Singh had said.