New Delhi: Music maestro AR Rahman on Saturday (November 23) warned of legal action against the ‘hatemongers’ and ‘sharers’ of abusive content over speculation surrounding his divorce from his wife Saira Bano.
In a strong-worded statement, he called out some social media platforms and YouTubers who started “a series of calumny and defamatory write-ups about” AR Rahman’s personal life “with their own concocted and fertile imaginary stories on their private life.”
The speculations over AR Rahman’s divorce started after he and his bassist Mohini Dey announced their respective separations on the same day, with many linking the two together. Let’s delve into more details!
What does the official statement say?
AR Rahman’s legal team gave “slanderers” an hour to 24-hour window to “remove the objectionable content” otherwise a “criminal defamation case under Section 356 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, will be filed, clarifying that the offenders are liable to be punished with a jail time of two years.
The statement further stated that an appropriate defamation suit would be filed against “anyone who has contributed to such false content to any media in an appropriate civil court as well as to get a prior restraint on any such publication by any media platform.”
The statement further read, “This notice is specifically addressed to individuals and entities operating on platforms including, but not limited to, YouTube, X (formerly Twitter), Instagram, Facebook, and online news portals. Non-compliance will result in legal action at your own cost and peril.”
It also shared that operators of such platforms must realise that “stage-managed publications” are motivated and are also “against the norms evolved by one of them which deals with “abuse/harassment wherein subscribers are warned that they may not share abusive content, engage in the targeted harassment of someone, or incite other people to do so.”
AR Rahman reacts to links with Mohini Dey
Clarifying his stance, AR Rahman cleared that there is “no iota of truth” in any of the “programs and interviews attributing obscene contents, intending to harm the reputation of the musician”. He also added, “This only shows the social media persons who intend to harm the reputation of my client are being content starved for their productions and are inventing highly imaginary and false stories to defame my client merely for their cheap• short-lived publicity.”
Meanwhile, AR Rahman and Saira Banu married in 1995 in an arranged marriage setup and are parents to three children. As per their official statement, they parted ways due to “emotional strain”.
