Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has observed that access to social media does not entitle anyone to publish content that could defame others, whether private individuals or public figures, while hearing a defamation suit filed by actor Salman Khan against his neighbour over a property dispute.
Justice Sharmila Deshmukh, hearing Khan’s appeal against a civil court order that declined to grant him interim relief, indicated that parties should refrain from litigating disputes on social media and instead seek remedies before appropriate legal forums. She also suggested that the neighbour, Ketan Kakkad, consider deleting tweets and YouTube videos relating to the dispute.
The court expressed disapproval of the continued circulation of such content and noted that judicial time ought not to be spent on examining whether videos should remain online. It added that even where content had been uploaded by third parties, steps could be taken to have it removed through intermediaries.
The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 6.
Farmhouse property dispute
The dispute concerns adjoining properties in Panvel, where Khan owns a farmhouse. Kakkad has alleged that the actor violated environmental norms and blocked access to his property, and that authorities failed to act on his complaints. He subsequently took to social media and participated in YouTube interviews to air his grievances.
Khan’s defamation suit contends that Kakkad’s posts and videos are not only defamatory but also communally provocative, containing false and inflammatory material. The suit also impleads Facebook, X, Google and YouTube.
Khan has claimed that Kakkad’s allegations stem from the cancellation of a proposed land transaction involving a plot adjacent to his farmhouse, and that Kakkad thereafter began blaming him and his family for orchestrating the cancellation.
Kakkad has opposed the suit, arguing that his statements are factual and do not amount to defamation, and that Khan, as a public figure, has placed details of his property in the public domain.
