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Won’t push for further take down of content, Adani Enterprises tells HC

It has also been pointed out that the government issued such orders “on its own accord” since the trial court had issued no such orders of takedown compliance to the government.

After AEL’s counsel Senior Advocate Anurag Ahluwalia made the proposal, Justice Sachin Datta told the counsels of Newslaundry and Kumar as well as AEL to take instructions and report back Friday.

Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) Thursday proposed before the Delhi High Court that it will not push for further take down of alleged defamatory content of those portals and journalists whose appeals before an appellate court challenging a gag order are pending.

The high court was hearing two pleas — one by Newslaundry Media Pvt Ltd, through its director Manisha Pande, and another by journalist Ravish Kumar — challenging the September 16 order by the Union I&B Ministry directing them to take down alleged defamatory content against AEL. Both informed the Delhi HC that they have appeals challenging the order before a sessions court in Rohini.

After AEL’s counsel Senior Advocate Anurag Ahluwalia made the proposal, Justice Sachin Datta told the counsels of Newslaundry and Kumar as well as AEL to take instructions and report back Friday.

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Newslaundry and Kumar pointed out that civil court’s order was ex-parte and that the I&B Ministry’s order directing for compliance with the civil court’s gag order “is nothing short of complete administrative overreach and inherently arbitrary exercise of executive power,” by directing them to take action on the basis of an order passed in a civil dispute between private parties.

It has also been pointed out that the government issued such orders “on its own accord” since the trial court had issued no such orders of takedown compliance to the government. The I&B Ministry issued the order on September 16 after a civil court in Rohini passed an ex parte ad-interim order on September 6 against journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and others, including John Does, that is unknown persons.

According to the pleas, the chilling effect of such governmental overreach extends beyond individual content creators to the entire ecosystem of independent journalism and public discourse in the country.

The Central Government Standing Counsel Amit Tiwari, appearing on behalf of the ministry, submitted that the September 16 government communique is only a communication and not a direction, as is necessitated under rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.