CarryMinati asked by Mumbai court to take down defamatory videos on Karan Johar

Highlights:

• Mumbai court grants ad-interim ex parte relief to Karan Johar
• Court orders takedown of allegedly vulgar, defamatory videos
• Meta directed to remove related content and URLs
• CarryMinati says videos already deleted, questions jurisdiction
• Further defamatory posts restrained pending next hearing

A Mumbai civil court has granted ad-interim ex parte relief to filmmaker Karan Johar in a defamation lawsuit against popular YouTuber Ajey Nagar, known online as CarryMinati, and several other parties. The court directed Meta Platforms, Inc. to take down the allegedly defamatory videos and related URLs, while temporarily restraining the defendants from posting similar content.

The order was passed by Judge P.G. Bhosale while hearing Johar’s suit, which alleges that the defendants used defamatory, vulgar, and abusive language in videos uploaded to YouTube. The court observed that Johar had established a prima facie case, particularly concerning the use of objectionable language in digital content that warranted immediate intervention.

Johar filed the suit through Apoorva Mehta, naming Ajey Nagar (CarryMinati), Deepak Char, Akshay Gajra, One Hand Clap Media Pvt Ltd, Poptech Growth Private Limited, and Meta Platforms, Inc. as defendants. Representing Johar, a legal team from DSK Legal, including advocates Pradeep Gandhi, Parag Khandar, Anaheeta Verma, and Pratyush Dhodda, argued that the content in question was not only defamatory but also deeply vulgar and abusive.

The petitioner’s counsel submitted that although some of the videos had been taken down, they had already garnered millions of views. They further contended that third parties were continuing to circulate clips in the form of reels and reposts across social media platforms, amplifying the alleged harm. The legal team urged the court to issue immediate ad-interim ex parte orders to prevent further damage to Johar’s reputation.

Appearing on behalf of Ajey Nagar, advocates Vikas Khera, Kukreja, and Alpna Mishra argued that the YouTuber had already deleted the allegedly defamatory videos and related material. They also questioned the court’s jurisdiction to hear the matter. According to the defense, Nagar had requested seven days to verify the claims made in the legal notice and to respond appropriately.

The defense further argued that Johar had filed the suit in haste without allowing sufficient time for clarification or response, and therefore requested that the interim motion be dismissed.

However, the court granted temporary relief in Johar’s favor. In its order, the court restrained all defendants, along with their agents or anyone acting on their behalf, from creating, publishing, reposting, or circulating any further defamatory or derogatory content related to the filmmaker on any social media platform until the next stage of proceedings.

Additionally, Meta was directed to remove the specific videos and URLs mentioned in the complaint.

The matter will now proceed to further hearings, where both sides are expected to present detailed arguments on jurisdiction and the merits of the defamation claims.