Karan Johar cornered CarryMinati! Court’s big decision on ‘Coffee with Jalan’ video

CarryMinati and Karan Johar: A big relief news has come for filmmaker Karan Johar. A Mumbai court has ordered an interim restraining order against popular YouTuber Ajay Nagar, popularly known as CarryMinati, and other related parties, including Meta Platforms, from publishing or broadcasting objectionable material against Karan Johar.

Karan Johar vs CarryMinati

Fame YouTuber CarryMinati had uploaded a roast video on his YouTube channel, titled “Coffee with Jalan”. Filmmaker Karan Johar alleged that the video, while parodying his famous show “Koffee with Karan”, was derogatory and targeted at Bollywood, nepotism and him in particular.

What did the court say?

On Monday, February 9, the court granted an interim injunction against YouTuber CarryMinati i.e. Ajay Nagar and other defendants. During the hearing of the case, Judge Pandurang Bhosale said that the content in the video appears to be defamatory and requires immediate intervention. The judge said in his interim order, “Primarily, it appears that Ajay Nagar and Deepak Char (managers of CarryMinati channel) have used abusive language. These videos should be removed immediately. Injunction should be ordered against all those who circulate these videos on social media platforms.”

The court has stopped not only the YouTuber and his associates but also all those who can share these videos on social media. It’s called a John Doe order, which also aims to stop anonymous users.

CarryMinati’s defense and Karan’s side

It was argued on behalf of Ajay Nagar that the said controversial video has already been removed. Although he argued that the video no longer exists, Karan Johar insisted in the court that the damage has already been done. He said that this clip had been viewed millions of times and despite its removal, it is still visible on social media in reels, short videos and other formats.

Karan’s issue was that the level at which this content was shared was affecting his professional and personal life. This is why he appealed to the court not only to remove the video but also to stop it from being circulated again and again.

Reaction on social media

This matter has become a part of debate on social media. Some people talked about YouTuber’s creative freedom and right to roast content, while many users expressed concern about the language and tone being spread on YouTube. Meanwhile, Karan Johar’s supporters have welcomed the court’s decision.

What’s next?

After the interim stay is granted, the court will decide in the further hearing whether this case deserves a strict long-term stay. YouTubers, social media platforms and legal experts are keeping an eye on how the balance between limits of expression and responsibility will be struck in the digital space.