In the case of Saint Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insan Shishyeva Gaddinashin Shah Satnam Singh ji Maharaj v YouTube LLC and Anr YouTuber and journalist Shyam Meera Singh informed the Delhi High Court on Saturday that he intends to remove the tweets he posted on Friday concerning the defamation case filed against him by Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh.
The video was titled “How Gurmeet Ram Rahim fooled his bhakts?” The video’s thumbnail read, “Ram Rahim ka asli sach (Ram Rahim’s real truth)”.
Singh’s legal representative also pledged to the Court that he will refrain from posting tweets about the case while it is under judicial consideration. This commitment was made in response to Justice Manoj Jain expressing dissatisfaction with Singh making comments on the ongoing legal proceedings.
Yet, the Bench refrained from issuing any orders today instructing Shyam Meera Singh to remove the video posted on YouTube, a video Gurmeet Ram Rahim contends to be defamatory.
The Court conveyed that it will examine Ram Rahim’s request for interim instructions once Singh’s legal representatives submit their response.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim filed a defamation lawsuit against Shyam Meera Singh concerning a video released by Singh on his YouTube channel on December 17.
During yesterday’s hearing, Shyam Meera Singh reportedly shared multiple tweets regarding the proceedings.
In one of the tweets, he purportedly encouraged individuals to download and view his video before any orders are issued for its removal.
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, representing Gurmeet Ram Rahim, voiced objections to the tweet during today’s session. Mathur argued that despite the Court’s consideration of the matter and the issuance of notice, Singh urged people to download his video, anticipating its potential removal.
Mathur asserted that Singh has a history of repeated offenses and is no longer associated with any media organization, with pending cases against him.
He further stated that every second the defamatory video remains accessible on YouTube, it continues to harm Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s reputation.
On December 24, he was served with a legal notice. He tweeted on the same day. It is not as if they are not aware of the proceedings… They say the video is based on a book. If there is something defamatory in the book, they cannot go on perpetuating it. I am being prejudiced every second. My prejudice cannot be compensated,
Mathur Argued
In the meantime, lawyers Kapil Madan and Gurmukh Singh Arora represented Shyam Meera Singh and argued that the video was derived from a 2018 book authored by journalist Anurag Tripathi. They pointed out that Ram Rahim did not include Tripathi as a party in the lawsuit.
They expressed concern that if the video is directed to be removed without the court thoroughly reviewing its content and reaching a prima facie conclusion, it could establish an incorrect precedent.
We were not served with an advanced copy of the suit… Yesterday, before I could know there was a case, a story was published by Bar & Bench. I came to know about the same through Bar & Bench. Till 6:41PM I did not have a copy of the petition. If they are so concerned, they should have given me an advance copy of the filing,
Madan Stated
The Court reviewed the arguments and announced that it will revisit the case on January 4, and by that time, Shyam Meera Singh is expected to submit a response to the case.
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur presented Gurmeet Ram Rahim’s case, with the lawsuit being filed through Advocate Shriya Chanda.
Advocates Kapil Madan and Gurmukh Singh Arora presented arguments on behalf of Shyam Meera Singh.
