Suspend groups and channels ‘illegally circulating’ content on SRK-starrer Jawan: HC to Meta, Telegram

On April 25, the HC had, in an interim order passed in the production house’s plea, restrained several rogue websites, internet service and cable providers, and other platforms, from displaying, copying, and recording any stills, audio/video clips, songs, recordings or other information relating to the film without a proper licence.

A single-judge bench of Justice C Hari Shankar in its September 19 order directed the two platforms to provide ‘Basic Subscriber Information’ including IP addresses, user names, registered email IDs, phone numbers, and other relevant details of the administrators of the WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels mentioned in the production house’s plea.

“Meta platforms is also directed to forthwith suspend and deactivate the following WhatsApp groups, which have been indicated in Schedule “A” and “B” to the application….,” the HC said passing a similar order with respect to telegram channels/groups mentioned in the application.

“The owners/controllers of the websites identified in Schedule ‘D’ are directed forthwith to desist from unauthorised copying, transmission, communication or making available any content in which the plaintiff holds copyright including content relating to the cinematographic film or any part thereof,” the court added.

The order was passed in a fresh plea filed in a pending lawsuit moved by Red Chillies against one Rohit  Sharma, claiming that he was circulating, without authorisation, copyrighted content relating to the film. The application sought an extension of the April order against Sharma. It also sought the disabling of various WhatsApp chat groups on which the copyrighted content relating to the film was allegedly being illegally circulated.

The HC restrained Sharma from copying, recording, reproducing, communicating or making available for distribution, exhibiting or playing in any manner, any stills, audio/video clips, songs, or recordings relating to the film without a proper licence from the production house.

“Mr Rohit  Sharma is additionally directed to take down from all his social media accounts including WhatsApp, Facebook, Instagram and Telegram or any other website accessed or operated by him, any content which infringes the copyright of the plaintiff including content relating to the film,” the HC said.

It also directed Meta to forthwith suspend Sharma’s WhatsApp account and block access to any content on his Facebook page and Instagram account. The matter is next listed on October 9.

In its April order, the HC had also issued summons to all defendants in the main lawsuit while directing Twitter (now X Corp), YouTube, Google, and Reddit to immediately block and take down all infringing content described at URLs mentioned in Red Chillies’ plea, which was filed by DSK Legal.