“Such post definitely has the effect of damaging the reputation and goodwill of the plaintiff. Various unknown people and third parties are reposting the same and this has the potential to create a divide in this united country, which is definitely not in the interest of the citizens of this country,” said Justice Bharati Dangre in her May 9 order, ahead of Akshaya Tritiya. The Judge started with a quote that went, “Darkness cannot drive out darkness…only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate and only love can do that,” and said it squarely applied to the “situation” before it.
The company, which claims to be the sixth largest jewelry group, had filed a suit against one Kajal Shingala and two others for posting a selective image and sought deletion of the content along with a claim of Rs 70 crores in damages. The HC directed Shingala, who claims to be a social activist and influencer, to remove the content from her social media handle. The company through its counsel Karl Tamboly said she was booked under criminal offenses following a recent “provocative” speech she had made and by her posts of ella, she was now attempting to malign the company’s image of ella. As she was not represented by any lawyer before the court, despite being served, the HC also directed three social media platforms to delete such content posted by Shingala and ensure no further comments could be posted on it.
The two others, on receiving notice of the matter before HC, took down their posts from their social media posts, Justice Dangre noted.
The HC said at this stage it was not the company’s credentials solely to be considered, “what is important to note is an entity, which has attempted a philanthropic act of providing scholarships to young girls and encouraged their progress, irrespective of their caste, believed or religion.” Justice Dangre said the defendant “may carry her own opinion on an issue, but by uploading only one particular photograph out of the entire stack of photographs clicked, when the scholarships were conferred upon the girl child across a wide spectrum, “without verifying the veracity of post, it would definitely cause harm to the secular societal structure of the country and in particular when the post prima facie is baseless.”
