‘Not court’s duty to tell media to delete this and take that down’: Supreme Court sets aside Delhi HC’s order to take down page on ANI vs Wikipedia case

The court said that “as a public and open institution,” it “must always remain open to public observation, debate and criticism”. “In fact, courts should welcome debates and constructive criticism. Every important issue needs to be debated by the people and the press, even if the issue of debate is the subject of proceedings before a court.”

“However, those offering criticism should remember that judges cannot respond to such criticism,” and “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,” said the bench.

Hearing a plea by ANI, the Delhi High Court division bench in its order noted that the adverse comment said that the single judge’s order to release the identities of the editors who made the edits on the page amounted to “censorship and a threat to the flow of information”.

The division bench said it is of the prima facie view that the said comment on the single judge’s order and the discussion on the observations made by it amount to interference in court proceedings and violation of the sub judice principle by a party to the proceeding and borders on contempt.

Last year, a division bench of the Delhi High Court had ordered Wikipedia to take down a page titled ‘Asian News International vs Wikimedia Foundation’ detailing the defamation litigation.