The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered the immediate removal of singers Honey Singh and Badshah’s Vol. 1 song, which was released in 2006 and 2007 under their collaboration ‘Mafia Mandir’, across all platforms, stating that it is “grossly vulgar, patently obscene and offensive towards women, artistic values and social norms”.
A bench of Justice Puruchindra Kumar Kaurav, while hearing the petition filed by the Hindu Shakti Dal seeking removal of the song, observed that the lyrics were not just offensive but were ostensibly calculated to normalize the depiction of women as objects of ridicule and sexual gratification.
Allowing such content to be published online, including access by minors, cannot be justified under the guise of artistic freedom of expression, the court said, which directed the singers, along with any others claiming their rights to the song, to remove it from all social media platforms.
“This is one of the rare cases in which the court’s conscience is shocked to its absolute core. It is one of those unfortunate cases in which the court finds the song to be blatantly vulgar, patently obscene, and insulting to women, artistic values, and social norms. “The lyrics are not merely disrespectful or offensive, but are ostensibly calculated to normalize the treatment of women as objects of ridicule and sexual gratification,” the court order said.
“Interim directions must be issued, as allowing publication of such content on online platforms, including access to minors, cannot be accepted under the guise of artistic freedom of expression. No civilized society can allow such content to remain freely available or monetised. Respondents Nos. 5 (Honey Singh) and 6 (Badshah), and any other persons claiming their rights to the impugned obscene song(s), are directed to immediately remove the URLs hosting this content from social media platforms or any other online sites,” the order added.
The bench noted that this was one of the rare instances in which the conscience of the court had been so shocked, noting that the song had also been heard in the chambers early in the morning, and that even its title had been found to be so inappropriate and unacceptable that it could not be reproduced in the matter.
It also issued notice to Honey Singh and Badshah and fixed May 7 as the next hearing date.
The Hindu Shakti Dal said in its petition that the song Volume 1 was uploaded on YouTube by different users under different handles, where it received millions of views. The petition also claimed that over the years, Honey Singh and Badshah have denied performing the song. However, she claimed that verses from the song were performed during a concert held in Delhi on March 14.
During the hearing, Google’s lawyer said that the URLs specified in the petition have been removed and that details of the grievance redress mechanism are available to the public.
