A Bengaluru civil court has directed social media intermediaries X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google LLC, and Meta Platforms to restrain publication, circulation and dissemination of allegedly defamatory online content concerning Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister and Jana Sena Party president Konidala Pawan Kalyan.
The interim order was passed on June 11 by the XVI Additional City Civil and Sessions Court, Bengaluru, presided over by judge Mohammed Moinuddin, in a civil suit filed by Pawan Kalyan against the above intermediaries, along with an unidentified John Doe defendant, representing unknown persons responsible for uploading and circulating the impugned content.
Moved through Senior Counsel Dr. Arun Shyam, the petition sought injunctive relief to restrain publication, republication, hosting, uploading, broadcasting, or transmission of allegedly defamatory statements, articles, videos, and allegations concerning him, particularly those linked to social media backlash arising from allegations of encroachment of lake land in Janwada, Telangana.
On June 10, the trial court granted an ad interim ex parte injunction in favour of the plaintiff, restraining the defendants from disseminating any content alleged to be defamatory in nature. Following this, Kalyan moved the court seeking modification of the interim order to specifically incorporate certain URLs and links hosting the disputed content.
The court noted that the material placed before it included multiple posts, videos, and articles containing allegations against Kalyan, including claims relating to alleged encroachment of public land and water bodies. It observed that for the injunction to be effective in practice, it was necessary to expressly extend its scope to identifiable online links and URLs flagged by the plaintiff.
Accordingly, the court partially modified its earlier order and directed X Corp, Google LLC, Meta, and persons acting through them, including agents and intermediaries, to refrain from publishing, republishing, broadcasting, transmitting, hosting, uploading, or displaying the impugned content in any form, including through the specific URLs and links mentioned in the schedule annexed to the plaint, until the next date of hearing.
The court further clarified that the injunction would operate against both direct publication and any derivative circulation of the allegedly defamatory content across the identified digital platforms. The matter has been posted for further hearing on July 24, 2026.
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