LUCKNOW, Oct. 12 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed social media giants Meta Platforms, Inc and Google LLC to remove ''objectionable content'' targeting Padma Vibhushan Swami Rambhadracharya, within 48 hours of receiving specific URLs from the petitioners. The order was passed on October 8 by a division bench comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Prashant Kumar in response to a petition filed by Sharad Chandra Srivastava and seven others, all disciples of Swami Rambhadracharya. The petitioners had approached the court seeking the removal of the alleged defamatory, abusive, and insulting content that was being circulated on various social media platforms against the seer. The petitioners alleged that a video uploaded on August 29, 2025, by Gorakhpur-based YouTuber Shashank Shekhar, who runs the channel Bedhadak Khabar, allegedly contained derogatory remarks about the 74-year-old seer. Swami Rambhadracharya, who has been visually impaired since infancy, is widely respected for his significant contributions to Sanskrit literature and for promoting education for persons with disabilities. The video was shared widely across platforms including YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, and Google. Earlier, on September 17, the court had issued notices to Facebook, Instagram, Google and YouTube, taking cognisance of the alleged objectionable video circulating on a YouTube channel and other social media platforms against Swami Rambhadracharya. The court had also directed the state commissioner for Persons with Disabilities, Lucknow, to initiate proceedings against the YouTuber under the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Act, 2016, noting that the material prima facie warranted intervention. When the matter was taken up again on October 8, the counsel representing Meta Platforms informed the court that the company could not comply with the earlier direction without receiving the specific URLs of the objectionable content. The court also directed the petitioners to provide any additional URLs to Google LLC for removal, apart from those already listed in the writ petition. Counsel representing Google said the link mentioned in the petition had already been deleted. The state counsel informed the court that pursuant to the earlier order, a notice had been issued to the YouTuber by the Office of the state commissioner for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), requiring him to appear before the deputy commissioner on October 18. The court allowed the respondents three weeks to file their counter affidavits and gave the petitioners one additional week to submit their rejoinders. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 11. htc...