Delhi HC gives YouTuber 24 hours to delete video against Dera chief

The Delhi high court on Wednesday gave YouTuber Shyam Meera Singh 24 hours to delete from all social media platforms a video accusing jailed Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim of fooling his followers, saying the content was “prima facie defamatory”.

A bench of Justice Jasmeet Singh gave him the liberty to upload a new video with a disclaimer that the content is based on a book and the orders of a Central Bureau of India (CBI) court, which convicted the Dera chief of raping two women followers and murdering a journalist and a disciple.

The Dera chief was sentenced in August 2017 to 20 years imprisonment for rape and the journalist’s murder. In October 2021, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for murdering the disciple.

The YouTuber on December 17 posted the video describing the Dera chief’s rise. He claimed there were certain irregularities in the CBI’s probe against the Dera chief, who also allegedly threatened his victims.

The Dera chief sought the removal of the video and to restrain the YouTuber from uploading or circulating defamatory content against him. He said the content was ex-facie misleading and per se defamatory.

He said the video was deliberately uploaded when his appeals against conviction were due for hearing in the Punjab and Haryana high court. The Dera chief added he apprehended the video was uploaded to subject him to a media trial and hold him guilty in the public’s eyes.

The YouTuber on December 30 promised to delete his posts from X after the high court’s nudge. On January 4, the court directed him to put the video in private mode.

Senior advocate Mohit Mathur, who appeared for the Dera chief, submitted the video jeopardised his client’s right to a fair trial. He said the YouTuber apologised on X but continued to post against the Dera chief on Facebook.

Mayank Yadav, the YouTuber’s lawyer, said the video was based on the CBI court’s orders and the book.