Delhi High Court Orders Removal Of Online Articles Against Man Booked For Extortion Over ‘Immature Prank’ With Friend

The Delhi High Court has ordered removal of online articles and publications in relation to a man against whom an FIR was lodged in 2021 for the offence of extortion by a friend due to his “immature prank” which was later settled and quashed in June last year.

Justice Prathiba M Singh granted relief to the 33-year-old, who was suspended by his employer until removal of the articles.

The FIR against him was registered for the offences under section 384 of the Indian Penal Code, 1860 and sections 66A and 67A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The same was quashed by a court on June 02, 2022, after the parties entered into a settlement.

Granting him relief, the court observed that the entire career of the man, a young executive, is likely to be jeopardized due to the “continued presence of the articles on the internet.”

Justice Singh also noted that the court has to draw a balance between the right to access information in general and the man’s well-being, mental health, career prospects and prospects in life and family.

“The fulcrum of any society following the Rule of law would be to reform a person and not condemn a person permanently. While bearing these factors in mind and considering the order extracted above, it is deemed appropriate to direct all the publishers i.e., Respondent No.3 to 10 to remove the articles,” the court said.

The court directed Google LLC to block access to the online articles. It also directed the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to issue directions for blocking of any articles relating to the man and the FIR within 48 hours.

“Ld. counsel for the Petitioner shall provide ld. Counsel for the Respondents all the specific URLs of the articles of which removal is sought. The list shall be communicated by the end of day to the Respondents. The said URLs shall be removed within 48 hours and the access to the same shall be blocked by the Respondents,” the court ordered.

The court also granted one weeks’ time to The Indian Express for removing the articles in question.

Title: SJ v. UNION OF INDIA & ORS.

Citation: 2023 LiveLaw (Del) 367

Click Here To Read Order