LUCKNOW, Oct. 11 -- The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad high court has directed social media giants Meta Platforms, Inc and Google LLC to remove ''objectionable content'' targeting Padma Vibhushan Swami Rambhadracharya, within 48 hours of receiving specific URLs from the petitioners.

The order was passed on October 8 by a division bench comprising Justice Shekhar B Saraf and Justice Prashant Kumar in response to a petition filed by Sharad Chandra Srivastava and seven others, all disciples of Swami Rambhadracharya.

The petitioners had approached the court seeking the removal of the alleged defamatory, abusive, and insulting content that was being circulated on various social media platforms against the seer.

The petitioners alleged that ...