An Instagram Account That Accused Subodh Gupta of Sexual Harassment Has Agreed to Apologize in Exchange for the Artist Dropping His Lawsuit

As the #MeToo movement gains global steam, an Instagram
account called HerdSceneAnd has taken a prominent and
controversial stand against sexual harassment in the Indian art
world. In 2018, the account began publishing anonymous
accusations that the artist Subodh Gupta, known as “Delhi’s Damien Hirst,” and several other
prominent men in the south Asian art scene had sexually harassed
women.

Gupta issued a denial and, 10 months
later, sued the anonymous Instagram account in a Delhi court for
defamation and financial loss amounting to nearly $700,000.
Then, just as swiftly as he’d taken legal action, he backed
down from his demands.

After a few court hearings, lawyers for Gupta as well as for the
Instagram account told the court in February that they would
“resolve” the matter privately. Now, the terms of their settlement
have come to light: The Instagram account holders will remove the
two offending posts concerning Gupta’s alleged sexual harassment
and would express “regret.” In return, Gupta said he would drop his
defamation case and his demands for financial recompense, and
wouldn’t push for the account holders to publicly testify.

The novel case has captured the media’s attention with all the
questions it raises: How could an anonymous social media account be
sued? Would the court demand that the whistleblowers behind it
reveal their identities? Would the alleged victims then have to
reveal themselves too? Why did Gupta wait so long to sue? Would
other powerful men who were outed by HerdSceneAnd also begin to
sue?

Although the account had posted allegations against several
influential men—including former Sotheby’s managing director Gaurav
Bhatia (who resigned following an inquiry), artist Riyaz Komu, and
painter Jatin Das—so far Gupta is the only one who has sued.

Gupta’s lawsuit also raises broader concerns about a possible
chilling effect on free speech. Early on, the Indian court
indicated that the whistleblowers who run the Instagram account
would have to reveal their identities. It also directed Google to
remove a number of journalistic articles which had reported on the
allegations against Gupta. The media outlets did not have a chance
to defend their reporting.

Essentially, Gupta’s defamation case not only risked deterring
women from speaking out about sexual harassment in the art world,
it also asked for a judicial clampdown on whistleblowing and the free
press.

As part of his case, Gupta demanded that Google globally
de-index articles about him from its search results and asked
Facebook, which owns Instagram, to take down the posts on
HerdSceneAnd.

Google and Facebook hit back at Gupta, telling the Indian court
that his demands would restrict free speech. Google said that
granting Gupta’s request would “put an unreasonable restraint on
the freedom of speech and expression on the internet as well as the
freedom of the press.” Facebook went further to speak out in support of
women outing alleged sexual predators, telling the court that
Gupta’s demands could dissuade “potential victims of sexual
harassment who share their experiences” and compromise their
privacy.

The Indian Journalists Union also approached
the court and asked to be made a party to the case on the grounds
that journalists cannot be stopped from reporting on public figures
even when the source is anonymous.

The newly established Culture Workers Forum asked the court to
be made part of the case as well, explaining that the Indian art
industry lacked the means to address sexual harassment: “when young
artists choose to enter the industry, mechanisms such as imposing
terms of service or establishing rules of conduct, are scarcely
considered.”

Gupta, who makes massive sculptures out of stainless steel
kitchen utensils, continues to show and sell his work
internationally at galleries including Galleria Continua, Hauser
and Wirth, and Nature Morte. Last June, a few months before he went
to court, Gupta was invited to a fundraiser by the UK’s Prince
Charles and Duchess Camilla, for which he made a giant brass
elephant as a centerpiece of the event. After the allegations broke
his art continued to be auctioned, raking in at least $530,000 in sales in the
months before he sued.

As for the anonymous Instagram users who took on powerful men in
the Indian art world, they are sticking it out. The Indian court
allowed HerdSceneAnd to maintain its status as an unnamed
whistleblower and the account is still active. Its most recent
post, in August 2019, said: “We are still listening. It might seem
quiet but do not for a second think our work is done and that we’ve
moved on. We continue to be threatened and intimidated in subtle
and not so subtle ways. Not all work can be in the public eye and
many in the Indian Art World are hoping everyone will forget, and
many have, but rest assured we all still remember.”

The post An Instagram Account That Accused Subodh Gupta of
Sexual Harassment Has Agreed to Apologize in Exchange for the
Artist Dropping His Lawsuit appeared first on artnet
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