Court Takes Aim at Social Media Platforms Over Objectionable Content

The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court has initiated legal action against leading social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Google, and YouTube. This comes in response to an objectionable video posted against Swami Ram Bhadracharya Ji Maharaj, vice chancellor of Jagatguru Swami Ram Bhadracharya Divyang University in Chitrakoot.

The court has instructed that a detailed representation be provided to the Grievance Redressal Officers of these platforms within a week, urging the immediate removal of the controversial content. During a hearing on Wednesday, the court also directed the State Commissioner for Persons with Disabilities to investigate Shashank Shekhar, the editor of 'Bedhadak Khabar', which circulated the video.

The High Court will reconvene on October 8 to further review the case. The writ petition, filed by Sharad Chandra Srivastava and others, calls for stricter regulation of social media platforms to curb the spread of such content. The petition highlights that despite repeated requests, the video titled 'Ram Bhadracharya par khulasa - 16 saal pahle kya hua tha' has not been removed, and continues to circulate derogatory remarks about Swami's disability.