Decide on case against Dhruv Rathee video in 15 days: Delhi HC to Center
YouTuber Dhruv Rathee. Photo credit: X@dhruv_rathee
The Delhi High Court on Friday (July 3, 2026) directed the Center’s Grievance Appellate Committee (GAC) to decide within 15 days an appeal seeking the removal of Dhruv Rathee’s YouTube video.
Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma passed the direction while hearing a petition filed by advocate Amita Sachdeva challenging the continued public availability of the video on YouTube. The court also warned that any disobedience to its order would be taken seriously.
In her petition, Ms. Sachdeva claims that the video recorded on March 21, 2026 contains statements that are “manifestly false, misleading and deliberately distorted” and may promote general disharmony.
She sought either a direction to the GAC, which comes under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), to decide the pending appeal, or alternatively an order to remove the video from YouTube.
During the hearing, Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma argued that either YouTube should remove the video or the court should issue appropriate directions for its removal, arguing that the content denigrates Hindu deities.
A lawyer for Google said the company had already responded to Ms. Sachdeva’s complaint and that it had subsequently filed an appeal with the GAC, which remains pending.
The court took cognizance of the submission and directed the GAC to dispose of the appeal within 15 days.
According to the petition, Ms. Sachdeva first filed a complaint with the Cyber Crime Cell on March 22, 2026, then filed a complaint with YouTube’s Resident Officer on March 23.
Alarmed by YouTube’s inaction, Ms. Sachdeva appealed to the GAC.
After Youtube refused to remove the content, saying they were unable to identify any violations of its community guidelines, Ms. Sachdeva approached the GAC on March 27. The petition alleges that despite IT rules requiring appeals to be resolved expeditiously, preferably within 30 days, the appeal remained undecided for more than two-and-a-half months.
The proposal also states that a criminal proceeding is ongoing at the same time. It said that the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate of Saket Courts had on June 9 asked the Delhi Police to issue a report on the action taken on her request to register an FIR.
Published – 03 Jul 2026 19:14 IST