Delhi High Court orders removal of videos blaming HC judge for Saket building collapse

The Delhi High Court on Monday passed an order directing the removal of videos and social media posts calling a sitting High Court judge "murderer" and blaming him for the death of six people in a building collapse in Saket on May 30.

A Division Bench of Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Madhu Jain said that it may also consider passing orders to block the accounts through which the content was uploaded.

The Court remarked that instances like these were becoming very regular and surfacing frequently. It also remarked that social media platforms need to be proactive against such content.

The Court also questioned whether such content can be removed suo motu by the social media platforms.

"How do we stop it? What is happening is that social media has become all powerful. Can we impose a responsibility on these platforms also? Once you [social media intermediaries] get to know about something so absurd, why don’t you suo motu remove it?" the Court asked.

The Court added that the statements made in the video were not genuine and were only an effort to scandalise the Court.

"We can only hope that the public does not pay any attention to it," the Court said.

The Court passed the order after the Delhi High Court Bar Association (DHCBA) filed a criminal contempt of court petition against psychologist and social activist Dr Kapil Kakar for allegedly making scandalous and contemptuous remarks against a sitting High Court judge and the judiciary.

The petition alleged that Kakar published a series of videos on YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, X and LinkedIn, accusing the judge of being responsible for the deaths of six people in a building collapse near Saket Metro Station on May 30.

According to the DHCBA, Kakar falsely claimed that the judge had dismissed a petition seeking to halt illegal construction at the building due to a corrupt nexus with municipal authorities. The Bar association contends that the court order cited by Kakar merely permitted withdrawal of the petition with liberty to file a fresh one because the property owner had not been impleaded.

The petition reproduces several statements from Kakar’s videos in which he allegedly described the judge as a “murderer”, accused the judiciary of corruption, and called upon citizens to “rise against such injustice."

The Bar Association argued that these remarks were intended to undermine public confidence in the judiciary and interfere with the administration of justice.

The plea further alleged that Kakar continued his criticism through additional videos posted on June 4 and June 5, linking the judge to an unrelated civil dispute involving ICICI Bank and suggesting a corrupt relationship between judges and corporate entities.

Senior Advocate and DHCBA President N Hariharan appeared for the bar association during today's hearing and argued that statements made in the videos were scurrilous and strict action must be taken against the uploader and the social media platforms for allowing such posts.

Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma appeared for the Central government and supported the DHCBA's arguments. He added that the content must be removed immediately.

After hearing the case, the Bench said that the content should be removed. The Court also issued notices on the criminal contempt of court petition.

Along with N Hariharan, Senior Advocates Sacchin Puri and Rakesh Tiku as well as advocates Kunal Malhotra, Nitesh Mehra, and Vidhi Gupta appeared for the DHCBA. The petition has been filed through advocates Amaan Shreyas, Mannat Tipnis and Manish Kumar.