Punjab: Facebook, YouTube told to remove audio clip of cop’s talk with woman

A court here ordered social media platforms — including Facebook, YouTube and X — to immediately remove a controversial audio clip containing an alleged conversation of a senior police offer with a woman for sexual favours.

The order was given by the court of Judicial Magistrate Vibha Rana on April 7 and uploaded on the court website on Wednesday.

“No person, group, page, handler, or digital entity shall post, repost, tag, upload, or circulate the impugned content or any content of similar nature concerning the same individual(s) or institution(s), if the same is unauthenticated, unverified, fabricated, or intended to malign, defame, or damage the dignity of any person or institution, especially the law enforcement agency,” the court ordered.

The court drew the inference that the content was “digitally manipulated with the intent to mislead”.

The order was pronounced by the court on an application moved by a social activist Devinder Singh Kalra.

Apart from this, the court ordered independent digital news platforms, including any registered or unregistered digital news publishers, web-based portals, or mobile applications, to remove such content immediately.

“This court has carefully considered the arguments advanced by learned counsel for the applicant and finds them to be well-founded and persuasive in the facts of the present case,” observed the court during the hearing.