In a recent ruling, the Delhi High Court has directed media giants Meta and Telegram to deactivate all WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels involved in the circulation and sale of pirated copies of the latest Shah Rukh Khan movie, “Jawan.”
Additionally, the Court has instructed WhatsApp, Telegram, and major mobile network operators such as Airtel, Idea-Vodafone, Reliance Jio, and BSNL to divulge subscriber information associated with the phone numbers linked to these accounts. This information includes user names and addresses, enabling legal action against the individuals responsible.
Justice C. Hari Shankar issued this order in response to a petition filed by the movie’s producer, Red Chillies Entertainment.
The Court took a strong stance against an individual named Rohit Sharma, identified by Red Chillies for illegally distributing copies of the film at a nominal price through WhatsApp. Meta has been directed to deactivate Sharma’s WhatsApp number and remove his WhatsApp group, Facebook, and Instagram pages. Similar actions will be taken against administrators of other WhatsApp groups and Telegram channels once they are identified.
Red Chillies Entertainment has enlisted the services of multiple anti-piracy agencies and agents acting as users to track down pirated copies of the film on WhatsApp, Telegram, and various social media platforms, subsequently reporting such instances.
On September 13, Red Chillies filed a police complaint with the Santacruz police station in Mumbai against Rohit Sharma and other individuals engaged in the unlawful distribution of the film.
The legal team representing Red Chillies included Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao, Advocate Nizam Pasha, along with DSK Legal Partners Chandrima Mitra and Parag Khandhar, assisted by Advocate Krishan Kumar.