'Can We Be So Touchy About Criticism Of Courts?' : Supreme Court On Delhi HC's Order To Remove Wikipedia Page About ANI's Case
The Supreme Court on Friday (April 4) questioned the order of the Delhi High Court which directed the deletion of a Wikipedia page on defamation proceedings initiated by news agency Asian News International (ANI) against Wikimedia on the ground that the page was prima facie contemptuous and amounted to interference in court proceedings.A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal was...
The Supreme Court on Friday (April 4) questioned the order of the Delhi High Court which directed the deletion of a Wikipedia page on defamation proceedings initiated by news agency Asian News International (ANI) against Wikimedia on the ground that the page was prima facie contemptuous and amounted to interference in court proceedings.
A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal was hearing a petition filed by Wikimedia Foundation against the High Court's take down order for the page titled “Asian News International v. Wikimedia Foundation”.
Justice Oka questioned how the High Court could have passed the order without contempt being proved. “We can understand if action for contempt is taken. But how can there be a direction to take down the offending pages and discussion unless the court comes to a conclusion that this is contempt?” he asked.
The High Court took exception to comments on the page, particularly a statement that a judge had threatened to order the shutdown of Wikipedia in India. Last month, while issuing notice, the Supreme Court expressed concerns about the High Court's observation that the content amounted to interference with ongoing court proceedings, and the direction to remove material simply because it criticized the High Court.
During the hearing on Friday, the Counsel appearing for ANI sought time to file a counter affidavit to bring on record a news article cited in the page.
However, Justice Oka emphasised that the issue is of principle of law. “Can such order be passed? See, every day in media you will find very severe criticism of the court. Unless it is contempt, can we be so touchy about criticism of the courts? A simple question we are asking you. You better take instructions. We are only on principles.”
Justice Oka further remarked, “Some criticism is made of the orders passed by the High Court. In a lighter vein, this criticism is nothing. If you see the criticism in other parts of the media, why should we be touchy about it? I will tell you frankly speaking, such criticism will be read for a few days and be forgotten thereafter.”
Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal appeared for Wikipedia.
The Court kept the matter for further hearing on April 9.
Notably, in the main defamation case, the Delhi High Court on Wednesday (April 2) granted relief to ANI and ordered Wikimedia to remove allegedly defamatory content from ANI's Wikipedia page titled “Asian News International.” The High Court observed that Wikipedia cannot wash its hands of the contents published on it by merely claiming that it is an intermediary and cannot be held responsible for the statements published on the platform.
Background
The dispute originates from a defamation suit filed by ANI against Wikipedia, alleging defamatory content regarding ANI's credibility and editorial policies. ANI sought damages amounting to Rs. 2 crores and the removal of the content. Wikipedia was also directed by the court to disclose the subscriber details of three individuals who had edited ANI's Wikipedia page, an order that Wikimedia contested.
Subsequently, on November 11, 2024, the Delhi High Court closed Wikimedia's appeal against the single judge's order directing disclosure of the individuals' subscriber details. This came after both parties entered into a consent order resolving the matter. The division bench allowed Wikipedia to serve summons on the individuals and permitted the single judge to proceed with ANI's defamation suit in accordance with the law.
Following the removal of the contested Wikipedia page, the High Court also closed ANI's contempt plea against Wikimedia.
Thereafter, the Single bench of the Delhi High Court issued summons to three individuals who allegedly edited ANI's Wikipedia page while dealing with the defamation suit filed by ANI against Wikimedia Foundation, which hosts the Wikipedia platform.
Case no. – SLP(C) No. 7748/2025 Diary No. 2483 / 2025
Case Title – Wikimedia Foundation Inc. v. ANI Media Private Limited
