The Bombay High Court on Thursday said access to social media does not give individuals the right to publish content that could defame others, be they private citizens or public figures. The comments came during the hearing of the dispute between actor Salman Khan and his neighbor Ketan Kakkar over a property case in Panvel.
Salman Khan vs neighbours: Bombay HC suggests removal of social media posts on Panvel property dispute
A single judge bench of Justice Sharmila Deshmukh was hearing the appeal filed by Salman Khan. The actor has challenged the civil court order which had refused to grant him interim relief in the defamation suit against Kakkar.
During the proceedings, the Court indicated that the parties should refrain from taking their disputes to social media platforms and instead seek resolution through appropriate legal forums. The court also suggested that Kakkar consider removing the tweets and YouTube videos related to the controversy. The bench expressed concern over the continued spread of such material online. It was observed that valuable judicial time should not be wasted in examining whether such videos should remain available on the internet.
The Court further said that even if the content is uploaded by a third party, steps can be taken through intermediaries to remove it. The case has now been posted for further hearing on July 6.
The dispute pertains to nearby properties in Panvel, where Salman Khan has a farmhouse. Kakkar has alleged that Khan violated environmental norms and blocked access to his property. He has also claimed that he contacted the authorities regarding this issue but no action was taken.
Subsequently, Kakkar posted tweets and participated in YouTube interviews discussing the controversy. Later Salman Khan filed a defamation case against these statements. According to Khan, the posts and videos shared by Kakkar are derogatory and communally provocative.
It was submitted before the court that the video contained false, speculative and inflammatory content. The submissions also said that the content allegedly contained references intended to incite communal sentiments against the actor.
The Court was informed that the content had received significant online engagement and viewership. Several social media platforms, including Facebook, X, Google and YouTube, have also been named as parties in the defamation suit.
Khan has claimed that Kakkar’s allegations came to light after officials canceled a proposed land transaction involving a plot adjacent to his farmhouse on grounds of illegality. According to Khan, Kakkar then started alleging that the cancellation was orchestrated by Khan and his family.
Kakkar has opposed the defamation case. He has argued that his statements are based on facts related to Khan’s property and do not amount to defamation. It has also been argued that Khan, being a public figure, has already put his asset details in the public domain.
