Rs 2-Crore Defamation Suit: Shopian Court Grants Interim Relief to Six Pesticide Dealers
Shopian, August 1, KNT: The Court of the Principal District Judge, Shopian, has restrained an advocate from publishing or circulating any further content alleged to be defamatory against six pesticide dealers and directed Meta Platforms to examine the Facebook links identified by the plaintiffs for disabling access to or removing the impugned material, subject to applicable law and its governing legal obligations.
The order was passed by Principal District Judge Mehmood Choudhary on an application seeking ad-interim relief in a civil suit filed by six pesticide dealers from Shopian against Advocate Abdul Basit Bhat and Meta Platforms. The plaintiffs have sought damages of ₹2 crore, alleging that defamatory videos and statements published on Facebook caused serious harm to their reputation, goodwill and business.
According to the suit, the plaintiffs alleged that the advocate had been disseminating false and defamatory information against pesticide dealers through his Facebook profile, claiming that the content was intended to malign their reputation and had resulted in substantial damage to their businesses. The suit further contends that the impugned videos attracted large public viewership and generated widespread circulation through shares and comments.
After considering the material placed before it, the court observed that the applicants had established a prima facie case for grant of interim protection and that the balance of convenience favoured preserving the rights of the parties pending adjudication of the suit.
Pending disposal of the application and until the next date of hearing, the court restrained the first defendant from publishing, uploading, reposting or circulating any further content concerning the plaintiffs that is alleged in the suit to be defamatory or disparaging.
The court also directed Meta Platforms, arrayed as the second defendant, to examine the URLs and links specifically identified by the plaintiffs and, if found to correspond to the content complained of, disable access to or remove such material within its territorial and legal competence, subject to applicable law and its governing legal obligations.
The court clarified that the observations made in the interim order are tentative and confined only to the disposal of the application for interim relief. It said the findings shall not be construed as an expression on the merits of the main suit, which will be decided independently after hearing all parties.
The matter has been listed for further proceedings on the next date fixed by the court. [KNT]
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