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Senior Advocate and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) spokesperson Gaurav Bhatia has approached the Delhi High Court, urging the removal of social media posts he claims are defamatory and digitally altered, stemming from a widely circulated television debate video.
Justice Amit Bansal presided over the hearing on Tuesday and is expected to pass an interim order on Thursday. Bhatia informed the Court that on September 12, while he was "in the comfort of [his] home," unauthorised images and videos were shared online. He asserted that the material was defamatory, violated his privacy, and in some cases included inappropriate references to male genitalia. He emphasised that any content containing vulgar language or such references should be removed, noting that "a person's reputation is built over time." He further alleged that some of the visuals were either AI-generated or manipulated. "I was dressed in a kurta and shorts; if a cameraman errs, that doesn't justify defamatory remarks like 'I'm coming from a PMO meeting,'" Bhatia argued. Justice Bansal acknowledged that obscene remarks are unacceptable but highlighted the need to differentiate between satire and defamation. "Being in politics requires a thick skin," he commented, adding that the Court must carefully assess what crosses the line from satire into offence. YouTube's legal representative stated that of the eight URLs flagged, two were unrelated to the issue. The Court noted that any directive must first target the original publishers of the content, and only if they fail to respond would platforms like YouTube be held accountable. Journalist Abhisar Sharma is among those named in the case. During proceedings, the judge also questioned whether terms like "nanga" are inherently offensive and raised concerns about the absence of content moderation on certain channels. (ANI)
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