Popular YouTuber Ajey Nagar, aka CarryMinati, is famous for his roasting videos. But sometimes, his jokes don't go down too well and come across as "defamatory, vulgar, and abusive." Recently, he made a sharp joke targeting filmmaker Karan Johar. While joking, mocking, and disrespecting can be a fine line, Johar didn't take kindly to the video and decided to take legal action.
A Mumbai court has now restrained Carry from making videos about Karan Johar. Carry has also deleted the videos he had posted targeting the filmmaker.
Defamation suit and interim order
Civil judge P.G. Bhosale passed an interim order on Monday in a civil suit filed by Johar. The filmmaker claimed that videos circulating on social media were ridiculing him and damaging the reputation and goodwill he had built over decades.
In these videos, Johar said, Nagar mimicked his popular talk show and portrayed guests in an "unflattering" way.
The suit, filed through advocate Apoorva Mehta, names Ajey Nagar (CarryMinati), Deepak Char, Akshay Gajra, One Hand Clap Media Pvt Ltd, Poptech Growth Private Limited, and Meta Platforms, Inc. as defendants.
According to Johar's legal team, the content used "vulgar and abusive" language and harmed his reputation. Even though some videos were deleted, they had already spread widely, and clips were allegedly being reshared as reels and short videos by unknown users.
Carry's legal team said he had already deleted the videos and related material that could be considered defamatory. They added that Nagar had requested seven days to verify the claims in the legal notice and respond properly. They argued that the suit was filed too quickly, without giving him enough time to clarify his side.
What did the court say?
Judge P.G. Bhosale noted that Johar had made out a prima facie case, particularly regarding the use of objectionable language in digital content.
The court then issued a temporary restraining order, stopping all defendants and anyone acting on their behalf from creating, uploading, reposting, publishing, or circulating any content that could defame the filmmaker until further notice.
The matter will continue as the court examines the notice of motion in detail. Meanwhile, the temporary order ensures that no more allegedly defamatory content about Karan Johar is shared online.
