The Andhra Pradesh High Court has directed News 8 Odia to remove videos relating to disputed allegations against a senior railway officer and refrain from re-uploading the same material through accounts or channels under its control. Justice Sunitha Gandham passed the order on October 30, 2026, while disposing of a writ petition filed by Anup Kumar Satpathy, Divisional Railway Manager of East Coast Railway, Waltair, Visakhapatnam. The Court clarified that its directions were intended to prevent the continued circulation of the disputed material while the police investigation remained pending.
Background
The petitioner approached the High Court alleging that a news channel had circulated videos, photographs and audio recordings linking him to an alleged blackmailing incident. According to his petition, the content included allegedly manipulated images and edited audio recordings, which were subsequently circulated through YouTube, Facebook and WhatsApp.
Satpathy maintained that the circulation of this material had damaged his reputation and caused public embarrassment. He approached the Cyber Crime Police Station in Visakhapatnam, following which Crime No. 507 of 2022 was registered under Sections 469, 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code and Section 72 of the Information Technology Act, 2000.
The petitioner further alleged that, despite notices issued to the concerned online platforms on October 26, 2022, the disputed videos continued to circulate. He therefore sought directions for their removal and for the investigation to be expedited.
During the hearing, the investigating officer informed the Court that the investigation was still in progress. The State's counsel submitted that the concerned news channel had not been responding to police calls. Representing YouTube, counsel informed the Court that the original link had previously been removed but that the material had subsequently been uploaded again.
Considering these submissions, the Court found it appropriate to prevent further circulation of the disputed material without interfering with the ongoing investigation.
The Court expressly clarified the limited scope of its intervention, stating,
"No opinion is expressed on the truth or otherwise of the disputed material, the allegations made in the complaint, or the culpability of any person."
This made clear that the order did not determine whether the allegations against the petitioner or the claims made in his complaint were established.
Justice Sunitha Gandham directed News 8 Odia to remove the links relating to the disputed material that had been re-uploaded, insofar as they were within its control. The channel was also restrained from re-uploading or causing the same material to be re-uploaded through any account or channel under its control, pending further action in accordance with law.
The Court further permitted the investigating officer to continue the investigation, pursue requests already made to the online platforms and take any additional steps permissible under the law. The channel was directed to cooperate with the investigation and respond to lawful notices issued by the investigating officer.
Clarifying the limits of its order, the Court stated that
"This direction is confined to the disputed material forming the subject matter of this writ petition and shall not be construed as a finding on the merits of the allegations."
With these directions, the High Court disposed of the writ petition without imposing any costs. Pending miscellaneous petitions, if any, were also closed.
