The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed YouTuber Shyam Meera Singh to remove from all his social media channels an allegedly defamatory video about Dera Sacha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, reported Bar & Bench.

The video, titled “How Gurmeet Ram Rahim fooled his Bhakts?”, was uploaded on December 17. It describes the jailed sect leader’s rise as the chief of the Dera Sacha Sauda and delves into the allegations of rape and murder against him.

Rahim was sentenced to 20 years of imprisonment in 2017 for raping two of his women disciples at the Dera headquarters in Haryana’s Sirsa district. In 2021, he and four others were convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of Ranjit Singh, a former manager of his sect.

After the video was uploaded, Rahim had sued Meera.

On Wednesday, Justice Jasmeet Singh held that since the YouTuber’s video did not contain any disclaimer about the source of the allegations against Rahim, it is prima facie derogatory and should be removed from social media within 24 hours.

However, the court allowed Meera to upload a new video about Rahim so long as it contained a disclaimer attributing its contents to a trial court judgement on Rahim’s conviction and the 2018 book Dera Sacha Sauda and Gurmeet Ram Rahim: A Decade-long Investigation, authored by journalist Anurag Tripathi, reported LiveLaw.

Meera’s lawyer had clarified these to be the sources of information for the video in question.

Mohit Mathur, Rahim’s counsel, argued that Meera’s video jeopardises his client’s right to a fair trial. Mathur also said that the video could be accessed globally and damages Rahim’s reputation.

Rahim’s petition had alleged Meera’s “intention to subject him to a media trial and hold him guilty in the eyes of public” at a time when an appeal against his conviction is due to be heard.