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Petition filed against new intermediary and digital media rules before Delhi HC

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KOLKATA: Last month, the Centre notified new rules for digital media which caused a stir amid the industry’s online content providers. Now, a petition has been moved before the Delhi high court challenging the new rules under the Information Technology Act to regulate internet intermediaries, over-the-top (OTT) platforms and digital news media.

The plea has been filed by the Foundation of Independent Journalism. It will be heard on 9 March by a division bench headed by chief justice DN Patel.

Several journalists, lawyers and activists have decried the rules as an attempt to muzzle freedom of press by laying the ground for tightening executive control over digital media. The Editors Guild of India last week demanded the repeal of these rules.

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The government laid down new rules for social media platforms on 25 February, making a distinction between social media intermediaries and significant social media intermediaries. In a gazette notification, it also specified five million registered users in India as the threshold for significant social media intermediaries.

“Social media platforms have done exceedingly well in terms of business and the number of users, while also empowering ordinary Indians. But it is very important that crores of social media users must be given a proper forum for resolution of their grievances against use and abuse of social media in a time-bound manner,” said union information technology minister Ravi Shankar Prasad.

Each significant social media intermediary would be required to appoint a chief compliance officer, a nodal contact person for 24×7 coordination with law enforcement agencies and a resident grievance officer. All three would be resident Indians. They will also have to publish a monthly compliance report mentioning the details of complaints received and action taken.

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They will also have to give a prior intimation, in cases where they remove/disable access to any information (social media post) on their accord. So, the platforms will now have to communicate to the users, the grounds and reasons for such action and give users adequate opportunity to dispute the action taken by the intermediary.

The government also asked the significant social media intermediaries providing services primarily in the nature of messaging to enable identification of the first originator of the information.

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Shemaroo buys OHO Gujarati’s entire content library for ShemarooMe

The deal lands over 30 original web series and 450-plus actors on ShemarooMe, with Pratik Gandhi’s Vitthal Teedi leading the charge

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MUMBAI: Shemaroo Entertainment has moved fast and moved big. The company has snapped up the entire content library of OHO Gujarati for its streaming platform ShemarooMe, a consolidation that has no precedent in the Gujarati OTT market.

The haul is considerable. More than 30 original Gujarati web series, featuring the work of upwards of 450 local actors, will now sit under ShemarooMe’s roof. For a platform that has spent years quietly building its Gujarati credentials, including originals, curated libraries, and culturally rooted narratives, this is the kind of bulk acquisition that changes the competitive arithmetic overnight.

Saurabh Srivastava, chief operating officer for digital business at Shemaroo Entertainment, made clear the company’s ambitions stretch well beyond the subcontinent. “As we bring the well-established catalogue of OHO Gujarati onto ShemarooMe, our focus remains on making high-quality Gujarati stories more accessible while continuing to invest in compelling content,” he said. “With our strong connection to Gujarati viewers across the world, we believe these stories from the OHO catalogue can travel far and create an exciting entertainment offering for viewers.”

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The first title out of the traps will be Vitthal Teedi, which hits ShemarooMe on April 10th. The series stars Pratik Gandhi, a name that needs no introduction to Gujarati audiences, and has the distinction of being the only Gujarati web series he has appeared in to date. Set in the heartland of Saurashtra during the 1980s, it traces a small-time gambler torn between personal ideals and the brutal logic of his circumstances. Character-driven, culturally embedded, and backed by a soundtrack featuring folk artists Aditya Gadhvi, Jigardan Gadhavi, and Geeta Rabari, the show arrives with considerable pedigree.

For Shemaroo, the deal fits neatly into a digital growth playbook built on sustainable expansion and deeper regional engagement. The Gujarati diaspora is large, dispersed, and underserved by mainstream streaming giants. If the company can deliver the goods, the OHO library may prove to be the most valuable land-grab in regional OTT this year.

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