HC grants injunction after Sasikala Pushpa alleges smear campaign on social media
Sasikala Pushpa moved Delhi HC, alleging that defamatory photographs were posted and shared on Facebook, WhatsApp, Google, YouTube
New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Tuesday restrained four online networking and search engines from publishing and distributing allegedly defamatory photographs of MP Sasikala Pushpa.
Pushpa, who was ousted from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) recently, moved the Delhi high court alleging that defamatory photographs were posted and shared on social networking websites like Facebook, messaging platform WhatsApp and were available on the Google search engine, akin to a smear campaign.
Justice R. K. Gauba, in his order, said that “irreparable harm will be caused to the plaintiff’s (Pushpa’s) right of...reputation" if these images were allowed to be circulated.
The four companies are restrained from publishing, broadcasting, distributing and disseminating these images.
This interim order against Facebook India, WhatsApp, Google India and YouTube means that they’ll have to ensure all copies of these photographs are removed from their portals and further photographs are not posted.
Pushpa’s lawyer, Sachin Puri, also agreed to share in sealed covers the defamatory photographs with the four companies, to ensure that the images were removed.
Puri also argued that there was a concerted effort to malign her reputation, including a case of sexual harassment filed against her.
In August, Pushpa first said that she faced a threat to her life from the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu. Chief minister and party head J. Jayalalithaa had expelled Pushpa for alleged anti-party activities.
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