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Delhi HC Orders Google, Facebook To Remove Posts Accusing Artist Subodh Gupta Of Sexual Harassment

Reports suggest this was after the artist filed a civil defamation suit against an Instagram handle that carried anonymous accounts of alleged sexual misconduct by Gupta.
Subodh Gupta in a file photo.
Chesnot via Getty Images
Subodh Gupta in a file photo.

Almost a year after allegations of sexual harassment emerged against artist Subodh Gupta, reports state that the Delhi High Court ordered Facebook and Google to take the down posts where anonymous allegations of sexual harassment were made against this artist.

News18 reported that Delhi High court’s Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, while hearing a civil defamation case filed by Gupta, directed Google to take down the URLs and also asked for the details of the person running the Instagram account HerdSceneAnd (where these allegations were made) in a “sealed cover”.

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The report said that Gupta had sought token damages of Rs 5 crore.

News18 quoted the court as saying, “It appears that the allegations as made in the allegedly defamatory contents, cannot be permitted to be made in public domain/published without being backed by legal recourse. The same if permitted, is capable of mischief.”

During the first hearing of the case on 18 September, the court had asked Gupta’s counsel if the alleged victims had been named in the content, if they had identified themselves or if any legal proceedings had been initiated against Gupta.

In the first hearing of the case on 18 September, the court had directed Instagram not to post anything regarding Gupta till the matter was heard next on 30 September.

“Prima facie, it appears that the allegations as made in the allegedly defamatory contents, cannot be permitted to be made in public domain/published without being backed by legal recourse. The same if permitted, is capable of mischief,” the court had said.

Gupta was forced to step down from his position as the guest curator at Serendipity Arts Festival after series of allegations against him in December 2018.

More than one co-worker had accused Gupta unwanted advances against him, LiveMint had reported.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.