A Faridabad Court recently summoned YouTuber and motivational speaker Sandeep Maheshwari in a complaint alleging defamation of another motivational speaker Dr. Vivek Bindra.In an order dated March 5, Judicial Magistrate Sumit Turkiya said that use of words like ‘Scam’, ‘Public versus Vivek Bindra’, ‘Stop Scam Business’, ‘#Stop Vivek Bindra’ by Mashewari lowered Bindra’s image in the eyes of the public. The Court also opined that the videos put out on public platforms like YouTube by Maheshwari against Bindra dent his image and had the effect of lowering his image in the eyes of the public.“The complainant has been able to prove the elements of Section 499 IPC. Whether the present case comes in any of the exceptions, it has to be pleaded and proved by the accused no.1 only,” it said.Accordingly, the Court issued notice to Maheshwari for April 2 after finding a prima facie case.Bindra, a motivational speaker and the CEO of Bada Business Private Limited, alleged in his complaint that Maheshwari had uploaded defamatory posts and videos against him.After considering the arguments, the Court remarked that there was a thin line of difference between ‘freedom of speech and expression’ and ‘defamation’.It also noted that conflict in the present case was not between two ordinary persons but between two experts, Youtubers, motivational speakers and business gurus.“Such persons have the skills to motivate others by using proper words, tenor and tone. Their fame show that they have been working in the field of motivating others since long and have succeeded a lot,” the judge said.The Court further stated that the case has to be looked at through the mental capacity of a motivational speaker who knows the importance of the words and how they influence the audience.“The accused no.1 appears to have framed his script in such a way that he calculated an amount in his video dated 20.12.2023 and represented it as a “scam”. The accused no.1 gave an illustration – “when a comb is sold to a bald person terming it as a magical comb, it is scam”. It is again is bound to have long lasting effect,” it added.Finding the provision of Section 499 (defamation) of Indian Penal Code attracted in the case, the Court said it cannot dismiss the complaint.“Since the complainant has proved the elements under Section 499 IPC, the accused No.1 only be summoned under Section 499 IPC punishable under Section 500 IPC,” it ordered.
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