A court in Jalandhar, Punjab, has instructed the removal and blocking of a manipulated video featuring former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi. The video, falsely depicting her making controversial statements about Guru Tegh Bahadur, was deemed digitally altered to fuel communal discord. Acting on a cybercrime police request, the court cited the video’s potential to disrupt public order and religious harmony in the state.
The court referenced Rule 3(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, and directed Meta (Facebook and Instagram), X, and Telegram to take down the objectionable content promptly. It mandated the removal within 24 hours of the court order and requested a compliance report within 10 days. Additionally, the court stipulated that all identical or derivative versions of the content be blocked upon identification by the state Cybercrime department.
In response to the court’s decision, Aam Aadmi Party’s national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda highlighted the significance of the judgment. He mentioned that the court found a video shared by Delhi Minister Kapil Mishra, disrespecting gurus, to be doctored. Last week, the Jalandhar Police Commissionerate confirmed the registration of an FIR regarding the dissemination of an edited video of Atishi, following a complaint by Iqbal Singh.
The Jalandhar Police Commissionerate revealed that investigations were conducted meticulously, including forensic examination of the video clip containing Atishi’s audio. Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann condemned the tampering of Atishi’s Assembly video, labeling it a deliberate attempt to incite communal unrest in Punjab. He emphasized that the video was manipulated with false subtitles, a sacrilegious act, and forensic analysis conclusively proved that Atishi never uttered the word “Guru.”
