'Grossly Vulgar, Obscene': Delhi High Court Orders Immediate Take Down Of 'Volume 1' Song By Honey Singh, Badshah

The Delhi High Court on Thursday ordered immediate take down and removal of a controversial song sung by singers Honey Singh and Badshah from 2000s titled “Volume 1” which was released under the name of “Mafia Mundeer” group.

Justice Purushaindra Kaurav said that the lyrics of the song are grossly vulgar, obscene, derogatory towards women and no civil society can permit such content to remain on digital platforms.

The Court directed the two singers and anyone claiming rights to the song or remixes or alternate versions to immediately take down the URLs containing the song from any social media handles, music platforms, sharing platforms or online locations.

At the outset, the Court noted that the title of the song cannot even be written in the official order, and that the same was completely unacceptable.

The Court was dealing with a plea filed by Hindu Shakti Dal seeking deletion of videos and audios of the song from social media platforms like YouTube, Google and Spotify.

The plea contended that during a recent concert, Honey Singh sang few verses from the song which confirmed that the same was sung by him.

Perusing the song and hearing the lyrics in chambers, the Court observed that it is one of the rarest case where conscience of the Court is shaken to the core.

It said that it is an unfortunate instance as the lyrics are derogatory towards women and bereft of any artistic or social value. The Court said that the lyrics ex facie are dehumanising towards women and contain objects of ridicule.

The Court said that dissemination of such material on public platforms which are accessible to all ages of individuals including minors cannot be countenanced under the guise of artistic expression or freedom of speech.

The judge said that there is complete disregard of minimum standards of decency in the society and that no civil society governed by rule of law can permit such content which is monetized on digital platforms.

Issuing notice to the singers, the Court directed that the URLs containing the song be blocked immediately. It further granted liberty to the petitioner to collate list of further links containing the song in question, including remixes etc, and give the same to Union Government which will pass directions to online platforms for take down.

The petitioner has also been granted liberty to use publicly accessible forms by major intermediaries to report subsequently discovered URLs and in case of any doubt, the intermediaries may seek clarification from the Union of India.

The Court also granted liberty to the petitioner to submit grievances to Google.

The counsel for Union of India undertook that in case any grievance is received from petitioner, necessary directions will be issued to the officer of government authority.

The matter will now be heard on May 07.

Title: HINDU SHAKTI DAL & ANR v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS