The Delhi High Court has directed astrologer Umang Taneja, who shot to fame by "exposing" and "debunking myths" propagated by celebrity astrologers through humour and sarcasm, to take down defamatory videos and photos of another astrologer, Trishla Chaturvedi.
Ms Chaturvedi, who goes by the name "Trishla Maa" on social media, had moved the court, accusing Mr Taneja of posting defamatory content against her.
A single judge bench of Justice Amit Bansal on September 4 noted that the clips, prima facie, were derogatory in nature and to delete YouTube and Instagram videos titled "Trishla Maa Ka Sangharsh - 10 Hazaar Har Varsh" and "Chutki Sindoor Par Bhaari Chutki Namak".
It also noted that similar cases were registered against Mr Taneja in the past.
The videos sought to malign the reputation of the plaintiff by accusing her of performing black magic and further portraying her as a drug abuser by morphing a photograph, the bench said.
The court noted that a prima facie case was made out against Mr Taneja as the presence of the defamatory content was likely to cause irreparable harm and injury to her reputation. He also restrained the astrologer from making any defamatory posts and videos against Ms Chaturvedi till the next date of hearing on January 20.
In her petition, Ms Chaturvedi sought permanent and mandatory injunction against Mr Taneja, to refrain him from making any further posts targeting her. She referred to a video in which Mr Taneja is heard referring to her as a "cheap guest", in a bid to tarnish her reputation.
The dispute between the two parties first arose after Mr Taneja posted a video against Ms Chaturvedi's alleged comments on "tantrik remedies", and showed purported videos of her smoking cigarettes during one of her shoots.
His latest post was of Ms Chaturvedi reportedly speaking about "tantra" using blood discharged during the menstrual cycle.
Ms Chaturvedia claims to be a practitioner of Vedic astrology for over 20 years and also runs a YouTube channel with over 1.29 million subscribers.
On the other hand, Mr Taneja practices astrology and regularly posts videos countering claims of famous astrologers. A quick review of his Instagram posts also shows him mocking celebrity astrologers.
