A civil court in Nampally in Telangana has ordered bike taxi operator Rapido and YouTube to take down an ad film for allegedly defaming Telangana State Road Transport Corporation (TSRTC). The court has ordered that Rapido and its successors, directors, employees, servants, agents, and representatives cannot telecast, broadcast, stream, reproduce, distribute, or make available to the public the original or modified versions of the ad film on their websites or through the internet in any manner.
The court also ordered Google-owned YouTube to remove the original and modified versions of the advertisement video from the service. City Civil Court of Nampally ruled that the ad featuring Telugu actor Allu Arjun is defamatory to the bus services run by state-owned TSRTC.
In the ad that offended TSRTC, Allu Arjun is seen in the role of a roadside food vendor selling dosas, where he tells a customer that people travelling in TSRTC buses are squashed like the filings of a masala dosa by the time they get off from the bus. He was referring to the crowded buses and the visuals showed such TSRTC buses with people hanging from the door. He also said that on the other hand, people riding Rapido bike taxis remain fresh like a dosa just off the pan.
This has angered the TSRTC officials, and they had sent a legal notice to Rapido to take down the ad. Corporation’s MD VC Sajjanar had tweeted last month saying that degrading public transport will not be tolerated by TSRTC management. He had also slammed Allu Arjun for doing the ad, saying eminent personalities should promote ads which improve public transport.
No Personal Interest in sending Legal Notices. Degrading #publictransport will not be tolerated by #TSRTC mgmt. Passengers & its Staff. #TSRTC is at the Service of #commonman. Eminent Personalities Should Promote Ads Which Improve The #publictransport. https://t.co/6riI72ZZPZ
— V.C Sajjanar IPS MD TSRTC Office (@tsrtcmdoffice) November 10, 2021
“I have received several complaints from our patrons about the ad’s objectionable content. While businesses can project their services as good, demeaning others, especially a government organization in the service of the public for decades, is highly offensive,” Sajjanar had told media. Talking about Allu Arjun, he had said, “Such big stars have the power to influence public opinion. They should not say something, portray anything for the sake of money.”
While the ad was shot in Andhra Pradesh, Sajjanar informed that the vehicle was hired for a day for the shooting in September. “To use our RTC bus to denigrate our service is even more appalling,” he had said.
After the legal notice was, YouTube had slightly edited the ad video, removing some visuals of the TSRTC bus. But the dialogue remained same, and a glimpse of the crowded bus was still there.
Since the company refused to stop airing the ad, TSRTC had approached the Court for getting it removed. Appearing for TSRTC, Senior Counsel K. Vivek Reddy argued that while Rapido was surely entitled to promote its services, it cannot do so by making defamatory statements about TSRTC & public transport. He also said that TSRTC is a responsible state-run corporation that takes several precautions for the safety of its passengers and it is against the law to make false and demeaning statements about it.
Agreeing with the arguments of the corporation, the court directed Rapido to stop airing the ad film and also directed YouTube to remove the video from its platform. Anybody who is found to be flouting the orders will be liable to be prosecuted, the court added.
