Defamatory content online: AR Rahuman warns, issues 24 hrs ultimatum
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AR Rahman on Saturday issued a warning to those circulating defamatory content and baseless rumours against him on social media and gave an ultimatum of 24 hours for users to remove such content online before he proceeds legal action against them.
After he and his wife announced separation, which he posted online, recently and his bassist Mohini Dey and her husband also announced their decision to part ways, social media got flooded with rumours of links between the two developments.
India’s Oscar-winning music maestro, who announced the end of his 29 years of marriage, expressed his disappointment with the widespread rumours and speculations.
“These fabricated stories and speculative interviews are hurtful, not only to me but also to my family. This is a clear attempt by content creators to gain attention at the cost of someone’s personal life,” he wrote on X.
His legal team issued a strongly worded notice, addressed “To Whomsoever It Concerns”, on X, demanding the immediate removal of defamatory content from platforms like YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, and X (formerly Twitter). The notice warned that failure to comply within a 24-hour deadline could result in legal action under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, which prescribes up to two years of imprisonment for offenders, The Economic Times reported.
After a media storm intensified over Rahman’s decision to separate, which social media linked to Mohini’s similar decision, the former and his estranged wife’s legal representative Vandana Shah dismissed the rumours, dubbing them baseless. She said that it is ridiculous to draw parallels between two separate decisions, India Today Digital reported.
On 19th November, Rahman originally announced the separation on X, writing, “We had hoped to reach the grand thirty, but all things, it seems, carry an unseen end. Even the throne of God might tremble at the weight of broken hearts. Yet, in this shattering, we seek meaning, though the pieces may not find their place again.”