The Supreme Court of India on Friday set aside a Delhi High Court order requiring the removal of a Wikipedia page detailing a defamation lawsuit filed by ANI against Wikimedia Foundation, LiveLaw reported.
The High Court had previously ordered the deletion citing concerns that the content amounted to contempt of court and interfered with court proceedings.
However, a bench comprising Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan held on Friday that courts as public institutions should be open to the public, and even sub-judice issues can be debated by the public and the press.
“The court as a public and open institution must always remain open to public observation, debate and criticism…However, those offering criticism should remember that judges cannot respond to such criticism. If a publication scandalises the court or judges and if a case of contempt is made out, certainly the court should take action. But it is not the duty of the court to tell the media to delete this, take that down. For the improvement of any system and that includes the judiciary, introspection is key. That can only happen if there is a robust debate even on issues which are before the court,” the bench observed, according to LiveLaw.
Justice Bhuyan reportedly remarked that it is not the court's role to instruct the media to remove content, highlighting that both the judiciary and the media are foundational pillars of democracy. The Supreme Court’s decision was informed by the judgements in landmark cases such as Sahara and Naresh Mirajkar.
ANI had alleged that the Wikipedia page contained defamatory content, including claims that the agency served as a propaganda tool for the government.
Does Wikipedia have control over who writes and edits on its pages? Watch our explainer to understand the case.
If you’re wondering about ANI’s pushback against being called ‘propaganda’, we’ve got the whole story. Click here to read about ANI’s business of news and how it signs ‘PR’ contracts with governments.
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