Delhi High Court orders take down of fake, derogatory posts against Kangana Ranaut in personality rights case

The Delhi High Court recently ordered the take down of fake news and obscene online content posted against actor and BJP Member of Parliament Kangana Ranaut, while considering her plea seeking the protection of her personality rights [Kangana Ranaut Vs Meta Platforms Inc And Ors]..Justice Vikas Mahajan passed the interim order on October 8, directing Meta (which owns Facebook and Instagram) to take down offending material flagged by Ranaut within 72 hours.The Court also directed the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and the Department of Telecommunications to issue directions to the concerned Internet Service Providers and Telecom Service Providers for blocking access to websites hosting such content within 72 hours..The Court had also issued notice in the matter on October 8, to seek a response from social media intermediaries and entities accused of publishing content violating Kangana Ranaut's personality rights.During the hearing, Ranaut's counsel had flagged fake news circulating about the actress and obscene AI-generated material uploaded online about her.In its interim order directing the removal of such offensive content, the Court also granted liberty to Ranaut to approach Meta and other internet intermediaries if she came across additional derogatory content, so that the same may be removed. "The plaintiff is permitted to notify additional infringing URLs, accounts, channels, or content discovered after the filing of the suit to the defendants who shall thereupon remove or disable access to the same without requiring the plaintiff to institute fresh proceedings," the Court said. Ranaut's plea will be heard next on February 3, 2027..Advocates Saket Sikri, Anasuya Choudhary, Prakhar Khana, Vikalp Mudgal, Shameen Yaser and Sudha Pradhan appeared for Kangana Ranaut. Central Government Standing Counsel Satya Ranjan Swain with panel counsel Naveen and advocates Sanskar Gupta, Tushar Hazrati and Kautilya Birat appeared for the Central government..[Read order]