Delhi HC warns YouTuber of contempt for tweet in defamation case by Gurmeet Ram Rahim

New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Monday expressed its displeasure over a tweet by YouTuber and journalist Shyam Meera Singh, saying that he was putting a video related to Gurmeet Ram Rahim in private mode out of compulsion.

During the previous hearing, the court had asked Meena to delete his tweets against the Dera Sacha Sauda chief.

On Monday, the court warned Meena of contempt if such statements were repeated in the future, stressing the need to respect the court's dignity.

Justice Jasmeet Singh clarified that the court did not compel Meena to make the video private, and any such portrayal would be considered a serious matter.

The court has listed the matter for further hearing on January 10.

On December 29, 2023, the court had issued a notice to Meena in response to a defamation plea, which seeks directions to the defendant to remove his YouTube video alleging that Ram Rahim deceived his followers.

In 2017, Ram Rahim was handed 20 years in prison for allegedly raping two women disciples. In 2019, he was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of his employee Ranjit Singh. In 2021, the Dera chief was sentenced to life imprisonment for the murder of a journalist.

Vacation judge Manoj Jain had directed the defendant (Shyam) to delete the tweets that were posted by him.

"While the matter is sub judice, no further tweets…I want you to be responsible. If he is a journalist, he needs to be responsible. Please do not make any tweets which interfere with the justice delivery system," he had remarked.

However, the judge had not pass any orders directing Meena to delete the video published on YouTube.

Ram Rahim initiated the legal action against Meena for a video uploaded on December 17, 2023, titled "How Gurmeet Ram Rahim fooled his bhakts?"

As Meena’s counsel had sought time to file a reply, and the court said it will consider Ram Rahim’s plea for interim directions after counsel file their reply.

Earlier, Justice Shalinder Kaur had also issued a notice to the YouTuber, specifying that notice would be served through email and WhatsApp, and listed the case for further hearing on December 30.

Advocate Rajat Aneja, representing Ram Rahim, had argued that Meena, despite receiving a legal notice, refused to delete the video and has a history of such offences. He cited a post on X by Meena on December 24, acknowledging the notice but expressing intent to fight the case in court.