Why Was Google CEO Sundar Pichai Slapped With Contempt Notice? Key Details of The Defamation Case

Google CEO Sundar Pichai is under the spotlight after he failed to take down a defamatory video from the social media platform YouTube. The news surfaced after a Mumbai court issued a contempt notice to Pichai over Youtube failure to delete a defamatory video titled “Pakhandi Baba ki Kartut” against Dhyan Foundation and its founder, Yogi Ashwini, according to media reports. The notice was issued by the court last week after a non-compliance contempt plea was filed by an animal welfare organisation Dyan Foundation, in October 2023. 

“Google was applying delay tactics and seeking adjournment on flimsy grounds, even as damage was caused to Dhyan Foundation and Yogi Ashwini ji’s immaculate character and reputation,” said the NGO. 

In its defence, YouTube claimed immunity under the Information Technology Act and said defamation as an offence doesn’t fall under Section 69-A of the Act. 

“So far the authorities filed by the respondent are salutary for me. In the said authorities the procedure is mentioned. However, nowhere it is mentioned that the criminal court has no jurisdiction to entertain such an application. Therefore, in my humble opinion, the ratio of above said authorities will not bar maintainability of the present application,” said the court in its order, according to the Times of India. 

The court has now scheduled the case for January 3, 2025. 

Apart from this, Google is also under the Competition Commission of India’s scrutiny after it received a complaint from a gaming platform, WinZO. The gaming platform accused Google Play of restricting downloads of apps and the games have to be downloaded from their websites, called sideloading. As a result, when the users tried to access the WinZO website for sideloading them on android devices, a disclaimer or malware warning is displayed. 

The gaming company contested that the warning that is displayed severely impacts its reputation and eventually has resulted in loss of business.