Ganapathi Trust Wins YouTube Video Removal Order

Authority: High Court for the State of Telangana at Hyderabad

Order Date: 21.08.2026

Petition No.18055 of 2026 was filed by Sri Ganapathi Sachchidananda Avadhootha Datta Peetha Trust, represented by authorized signatory K. Narayanarao, under Article 226 of the Constitution, seeking a writ of mandamus to compel removal of “instigating and disturbing” videos that allegedly tarnish the trust’s reputation and incite public disharmony.
Respondents included: (1) State of Telangana, represented by the Principal Secretary, Home Department; (2) Commissioner of Police – Cyber Crime, Basheerbagh, Hyderabad; (3) Station House Officer, CCS Basheerbagh, Hyderabad; (4) YouTube (owned by Google LLC), represented by CEO Neal Mohan; (5) Google LLC; (6) Siddhaguru YouTube Channel, represented by Sri Ramanananda Maharshi; and (7) Guduru Venkata Ramana, a self‑proclaimed spiritual guru.
The dispute stemmed from FIR No. 405 of 2026 dated 09.06.2026, alleging that the aforementioned videos posted on the Siddhaguru YouTube channel and associated accounts were defamatory and disruptive.
On 12.06.2026, the Court issued an interim order directing respondents 4 (YouTube) and 5 (Google) to delete the objectionable material identified through URLs supplied by respondent 3 via the “Sahayog Portal” and to submit a compliance report.
Respondent 5 filed a memo on 11.08.2026 stating that the URLs were no longer accessible, indicating that the material had been removed from the platform.

The Court disposed of the writ petition on 21.08.2026 without awarding any costs.
It directed the petitioner to make a representation whenever such material is re‑uploaded, specifying the URLs; upon receipt, respondents 4 and 5 are to take appropriate action to delete the content.
No further orders as to costs were made, and any pending miscellaneous applications were closed.

Topics: Court Order, Online Content Removal