India, Feb. 18 -- Social media intermediaries Meta and X (formerly Twitter) told the Delhi high court on Tuesday that Yoga exponent and Ayurveda entrepreneur Baba Ramdev cannot seek removal and blocking global access of content, including parody, satire, and news reports featuring his persona, in a suit for protection of personality rights, as this would infringe citizens' right to freedom of speech.

The submission was made before a bench of Justice Jyoti Singh in a suit filed by the Patanjali Ayurveda founder seeking protection of his personality rights by restraining various entities from using his persona without his consent.

In his suit, Ramdev also sought the takedown of news articles and television reports that featured his image ...