NEW DELHI: The Delhi high court on Thursday directed the Centre’s Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to decide within 15 days a pending appeal seeking the removal of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee’s video titled “Can Hindus Eat Beef? | Kerala Story 2 Exposed” from YouTube.The direction was issued while disposing of a petition filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva. She alleged that the video was defamatory and contained content targeting Hindu deities Lord Ram and Sita, news agency ANI reported.Sachdeva had sought directions to the GAC to decide her pending appeal or to order the removal of the video.During the hearing, additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma, appearing for the Union Government, submitted that the intermediary ought to have taken down the video, contending that the content was harmful and fissiparous.Counsel appearing for Google informed the court that the petitioner had already approached the GAC under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, seeking redressal of her grievance, ANI reported.Taking note of the submissions, the high court directed the GAC to decide the pending appeal within 15 days and disposed of the writ petition.According to the petition, Sachdeva had challenged the GAC’s failure to decide her appeal within the timeline prescribed under Rule 3A(4) of the IT Rules, 2021.She alleged that despite approaching YouTube’s resident grievance officer and subsequently filing an appeal before the GAC, no decision had been taken, prompting her to invoke the writ jurisdiction of the High Court.The petition also referred to parallel criminal proceedings before a Saket court, where an Action Taken Report had earlier been sought from the concerned SHO on her application seeking registration of an FIR in connection with the video.(With agency inputs)
