MP High Court cracks down on viral court memes
The Madhya Pradesh High Court has ordered YouTube, Instagram, and other platforms to take down 102 links featuring edited clips from live-streamed court proceedings.
These videos—often turned into memes—broke the court's livestreaming rules and twisted judges' remarks, which, according to the petitioners, could amount to contempt.
Petitioners call out misuse; platforms get 48 hours
Advocates Arihant Tiwari, Vidit Shah, and Dr. Vijay Bajaj pointed out specific cases where courtroom moments were taken out of context—like a judge revoking bail as a daughter pleaded or judges scolding unprepared lawyers.
The bench gave social media platforms 48 hours to remove the flagged content after Meta asked for exact URLs.
Livestreams may move off YouTube soon
To prevent further misuse, petitioners want future streams moved from YouTube to Webex with stricter monitoring.
For now, livestreams of criminal cases are paused until at least March 24 while the court reviews next steps.