Allahabad HC Directs Social Media Platforms to Remove Defamatory Content Against Swami Rambhadracharya
The Allahabad High Court directs social media platforms to immediately remove defamatory content targeting spiritual leader Swami Rambhadracharya
The Allahabad High Court, Lucknow Bench, has directed immediate action on a petition highlighting defamatory and derogatory online content targeting Padma Vibhushan awardee and spiritual leader Swami Ram Bhadracharya. Court issued notices to Facebook India, Instagram India, Google, and YouTube and directed their respective Grievance Redressal Officers to ensure that such content is taken down immediately.
The order was passed by the bench of Justice Sangeeta Chandra on September 17, 2025.
The petition, filed by eight disciples of the revered scholar, alleged that a Gorakhpur-based YouTuber, Shashank Shekhar of Bedhadak Khabar, had uploaded a video on August 29, 2025, under the title “Rambhadracharya par Khulasa, 16 saal pahle kya hua tha”. The video, circulated widely on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram, contained allegedly defamatory, abusive, and insulting remarks against Swami Ji, who has been blind since infancy but has earned national recognition for his contributions to literature, Sanskrit scholarship, and social service.
Swami Ram Bhadracharya, Chancellor of Jagadguru Swami Ram Bhadracharya Divyang Vishwavidyalay in Chitrakoot, is a Padma Vibhushan awardee (2015) and the recipient of the prestigious Gyanpeeth Award in 2025. His disciples argued that the derogatory portrayal not only damaged his reputation but also insulted the dignity of persons with disabilities at large.
The petitioners sought multiple directions from the court, including invoking Section 98 of the Bhartiya Nagrik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023 to censure and ban such content. They also pressed for strengthening the grievance mechanisms of social media companies and framing guidelines to prevent online discrimination against persons with disabilities. Action was also sought under various laws, including Sections 196, 197, 294, 295, 299, 302 of the Bhartiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, Sections 67A, 67B of the Information Technology Act, 2000, Sections 3, 4 of the Indecent Representation of Women’s Act, 1986 and Sections 3, 7, 92, along with powers under Sections 75, 80 of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016.
The petition further highlighted a history of similar defamation. In 2008, a Hindi magazine Prakhar Vichar/Prakhar Astha published insulting material against the saint, leading to FIRs under sections including sedition (124A) and promoting enmity (153A). While the Press Council of India censured the magazine in 2011, a writ filed by its editors was dismissed with costs.
The petition named the State of Uttar Pradesh, the Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities, and the Chief and State Commissioners for Persons with Disabilities as respondents, alongside Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube.
In the present proceedings, counsel for the Union of India informed the bench that instructions had yet to be received from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, but the Department of Empowerment of Persons with Disabilities acknowledged that the State Commissioner was empowered under the 2016 Act to act upon such complaints. Court noted that despite detailed representations made by the petitioners, including a cease-and-desist notice served on September 3, 2025, neither the authorities nor the platforms had acted to remove the content.
The bench observed that, prima faci,e the video annexed in the petition was sufficient for the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities in Lucknow to initiate action against Shashank Shekhar. At the same time, it underscored that under the Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube are obliged to act promptly on grievances relating to unlawful or defamatory digital content.
Accordingly, court directed the petitioners to file a complaint with the grievance officers of the platforms within a week. The companies, once notified, must ensure that the content is taken down immediately. The State Commissioner was also instructed to issue notice to Shekhar, hear his explanation and take appropriate steps under the disability rights law.
Further, the petitioners have been ordered to serve notices to all respondents and file an affidavit of compliance within two weeks. The matter will next be heard on October 8, 2025.
Case Title: Sharad Chandra Srivastava 7 Others vs. State Of U.P. Thru. Prin. Secy. Home Deptt. Lko. And 9 Others
Order Date: September 17, 2025
Bench: Justice Sangeeta Chandra and Justice Brij Raj Singh