New Delhi: The Supreme Court has set aside Delhi High Court’s order directing Wikipedia to take down “defamatory content” against news agency ANI.
Observing that the high court’s direction was “very broadly worded”, the country’s top court said that the injunction should be granted in a manner that it is capable of being implemented.
The bench, comprising Justices AS Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan, was of the opinion that the issue was in the nature of relief sought before the single-judge bench of the High Court.
The Supreme Court advised the news agency to file a fresh petition.
ANI was granted liberty to file a fresh application before the single-judge bench, specifically targeting the content in question on the website. If such an application is submitted, it should be evaluated on its own merits, without being influenced by the top court’s current order, the two-judge bench stated.
The online encyclopedia’s controversial webpage had reported details from a High Court hearing, including the judge’s remarks, in connection with a Rs 2-crore defamation suit filed by ANI against Wikipedia.
Supreme Court had noted during earlier hearings that the High Court does have the authority to order content takedown, but such action requires a prima facie finding that the content is contemptuous.
