Dera Sacha Sauda chief moves Delhi HC against YouTuber for allegedly defamatory video
The YouTuber, Shyam Meera Singh, told the court on Saturday that he would not tweet on the matter while it is being considered.
Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh moved the Delhi High Court against YouTuber Shyam Meera Singh for posting an alleged defamatory video about him, reported Bar and Bench on Friday
The video, titled “How Gurmeet Ram Rahim fooled his Bhakts?”, was posted on December 17. In the video, Singh described the jailed sect leader’s rise as the chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda, and mentioned the allegations of rape and murder against him.
On Saturday, Singh told the High Court that he would delete tweets that he posted on Friday about the High Court case. His counsel also told the court that his client would not tweet about the case while it was being heard.
The Youtuber deleted several tweets that he posted about the matter.
Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh was sentenced to 20 years’ imprisonment in 2017 for raping two of his women disciples at the Dera headquarters in the Sirsa district. In 2021, he and four others were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment in the murder case of Ranjit Singh, a former manager of his sect.
On Friday, advocate Rajat Aneja, appearing for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, told the court that Shyam Meera Singh refused to delete the video even after a legal notice was served to him, reported Bar and Bench.
“He [Shyam Meera Singh] used to be a journalist with Aaj Tak but he was fired for insulting the Prime Minister,” Aneja told the court. “An FIR has also been filed against him in Uttar Pradesh for insulting the state’s chief minister.”
Senior Advocate Mohit Mathur, also appearing for Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, told the court that the video remaining available on YouTube would damage the reputation of his client.
However, the YouTuber told the court that his video was based on a 2018 book written by journalist Anurag Tripathi, who has not been made party to the case.
The court will next hear the matter on January 4.