FRESHERS MOOT COURT COMPETITION

5TH 7TH OCTOBER, 2016

MOOT PROPOSITION

THE TAMIL NADU DR. AMBEDKAR LAW

UNIVERSITY
SCHOOL OF EXCELLENCE IN LAW

MOOT PROPOSITION1
1. The Republic of Leos (Leos) is a socialist, secular and
democratic country. It is a multi-lingual State with diverse
culture. The State aims to protect the status of women in the
country and it assures an array of fundamental rights to all
citizens through its Constitution. It has a population of 1.2
billion, 45% of which constitutes women. The media plays a
vital role in the growth and development of the State and is
therefore considered as the fourth pillar of the democracy.
2. In the age of social media, V Tube is a Leosian video-sharing
website having over a billion viewers across the world. Clause
9 of the Terms & Conditions of the website reads:
9. COMPLIANCE WITH LAWS
(a) The opinions and views of the Content Creators of
V Tube shall be respected.
(b) The Content Creators are solely responsible to
comply with all the applicable laws, rules, regulations
and third party rights. They shall not use the website
in

manner

that

violates

such

laws,

rules,

regulations, third party rights or any other policies in

a manner that is deceptive, unethical, false or
misleading to the public.
3. Mr. Gablo Carnetto, a stand-up comedian, script writer
and producer is considered a trending phenomenon on all
1 The Freshers Moot Problem, 2016 was drafted by Swadhi Subramaniam &
Ashwathy Nair S., Year V, B.A., B.L. (Hons.), School of Excellence in Law, Chennai.

social media platforms. He is also the creator of a V Tube

channel, Comic Sketch which has more than 100 million
subscribers who actively follow his work. He uploads
humorous video clips, memes, parodies, political satires,
spoofs, etc., several of which have secured the Golden
Voot award, for crossing 500 million views.
4. Previously, Mr. Carnetto had created and uploaded videos
targeting specific groups, especially several sham and
bogus NGOs. The videos brought to light the fraudulent
intention and malpractice of such NGOs, and this was well
appreciated.
5. In 2014, a survey conducted by the Review Department of
the Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation
found that there are close to 34,000 Non-Governmental
Organisations (NGOs) in the State. Ms. Shriya Kasatta is
a social activist who founded and runs Ranvad Swashni
(RaSwa), a registered NGO, which progressively works
to uplift the status of women in the society.
6. On the 27th of August, 2016, TV Expos, a Leosian news
channel headquartered in Tarams (the capital of Leos)
conducted a sting operation on RaSwa to investigate
funds received from dubious foreign sources. The channel
revealed that there was gross mismanagement of funds
and irregularities in the inflow of donations. It was alleged
that Ms. Kasatta had diverted the foreign funds for her
personal use. Several payments had been made without
the requisite documents, unaccounted travel expenses and
the purchase of luxury cars.

7. The

Government

of

Leos

on

September

1st,

2016

blacklisted 16 NGOs including RaSwa, and prohibited

them from receiving foreign funds after getting adverse
reports on their activities. Due to non-compliance with the
Rules under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act
(FCRA) the Government also issued a notice to the
blacklisted NGOs.
8. On September 3rd, 2016 Mr. Carnetto uploaded a video using
the face-swap feature wherein he impersonated Ms. Kasatta,
and made the following statement:
You all know me, or maybe you dont. I am the so
called feminist or maybe I am not. People think I work
for the betterment of women but I actually dont care!
All I like to do is swindle money and buy more beach
houses and Bugattis. And I sell myself for donations.
Oh you money bags! Tell me where there is quick
money because I am the famous Kasatta and I can do
it all, all just for money.
The video hit a 100 million views within an hour and went
viral on the internet.
9. However, this also invited the wrath of the public and was
criticised by various women welfare outfits and social welfare
activists. It infuriated Ms. Kasatta since the comments made
in the video were contrary to the ideals of RaSwa and was
detrimental to the goodwill of her organisation. She filed a
criminal complaint against Mr. Carnetto for tarnishing her
image. Subsequently, the flow of donations to her NGO
stopped and there were widespread protests against her
organisation.

10.

The First Information Report (FIR) with Crime No. AB-

1511-2016 was registered on 8th September, 2016. During the

trial, the Defence claimed that the video was not uploaded
with malafide intention and that it was done in good faith.
Further, it was argued that there was actual misuse of the
funds by the NGO. The Judicial Magistrate found Mr. Carnetto
guilty

of

criminal

defamation

and

sentenced

him

to

imprisonment of two years and a fine of Rs. 10 Lakhs.

11.

Mr. Carnetto appealed to the High Court of Tarams

which upheld the order of the Trial Court. Mr. Carnetto then
preferred an appeal to the Honble Supreme Court of Leos.
The case is listed for final hearing on 05.10.2016.
NOTE:
1. It is to be noted that the laws of Leos are in pari materia with
the laws of the Republic of India.

2. Participants are encouraged to raise preliminary objections on

issues of maintainability and jurisdiction.