Delhi High Court Orders Central Panel To Decide On Dhruv Rathee Video Plea In 15 Days

On Friday, the Delhi High Court directed the Centre's Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to decide within 15 days on a petition seeking the removal of a video by YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. The order was passed by a bench of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma at the Delhi High Court during the hearing of a petition filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva.

In her petition, Sachdeva sought a direction to the GAC to decide her appeal seeking the removal of the video within one month. She contended that the matter had remained pending before the committee for nearly three months. Sachdeva alleged that the contents of the video were harmful, hurtful, and defamatory.

The court issued a strict warning regarding the deadline. "The GAC shall decide the petitioner’s appeal expeditiously within 15 days. Any disregard of the court’s order will be taken seriously," the court stated in its order.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma, who appeared for the Centre alongside advocate Avshreya Rudy, submitted that the video was disparaging towards Hindu deities and was therefore intolerable.

The law officer further argued that the mere pendency of the appeal before the GAC did not prevent the intermediary from taking down the content. He contended that the intermediary should either voluntarily remove the video or comply with a judicial direction ordering its takedown.

Counsel appearing for Google submitted that the appeal was pending before the GAC and confirmed that the platform had already filed its response in the matter.

Apart from moving the high court, Sachdeva has also filed a complaint before a trial court seeking the registration of an FIR against Rathee. In her trial court complaint, she alleged that the video insulted Sanatana Dharma, distorted Hindu scriptures, spread anti-Hindu sentiment, and incited religious disharmony, requiring urgent legal action.