Image credits - SabrangIndia
The Bombay High Court has issued a significant order restraining Shajan Skariah, a Malayali YouTuber, from posting any further defamatory content against Malabar Gold Limited. The court has also directed Skariah to immediately remove a specific video from his YouTube channel, “Marunadan Malayali,” which was deemed “defamatory and reckless” by the court.
Justice Arif Doctor, presiding over the case, reviewed the video in question and concluded that it contained defamatory statements about Malabar Gold. The judge’s ruling on August 7 emphasized that the video was prejudicial to the company’s reputation and breached the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The video discussed the dismissal of an employee, Arjun Sathyan, from Malabar Gold and made several negative statements about the company. Malabar Gold argued that the video’s content was not based on factual reporting but rather on the unverified assertions of the YouTuber, who had no direct connection to the company.
The company presented evidence showing that the video had garnered over 517,000 views, along with thousands of likes and comments, which contributed to the damage of Malabar Gold’s reputation. They also highlighted the YouTuber’s history of controversial content and ongoing litigation related to his videos.
In response to Malabar Gold’s interim plea, the court ordered the removal of the video and instructed Google LLC to take down the content if Skariah fails to comply. The matter is scheduled for further hearing on August 20.