Delhi High Court orders X to take down videos of Arvind Kejriwal arguing his case
The Delhi High Court also sought the Centre’s response on the steps it has taken to ensure that social media users do not share information that violates the law.
The PIL alleged that Arvind Kejriwal’s decision to argue his recusal plea himself on April 13 'was part of some conspiracy to gain public sentiments'. (File Photo)
The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed X Corp to remove social media posts of court proceedings featuring Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal, arguing his case before another judge of the court on April 13.
The direction came in a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) by advocate Vaibhav Singh, who is seeking contempt proceedings against Kejriwal, several other politicians, and journalist Ravish Kumar for unauthorisedly and illegally uploading and circulating audio and video recordings of the former Delhi chief minister arguing his plea seeking the recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the alleged liquor policy scam.
While senior advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for Meta Platforms, informed the bench of Justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora that they have already removed such posts from its platform following a communication from the Registrar General of India, Google LLC’s counsel submitted that some of the links flagged by Singh on YouTube do not appear to host the said court proceedings’ video. The court, however, directed Google to take down the posts if indeed they are of the court proceedings.
X Corp did not appear before the court during the proceedings.
The bench raised a larger query: whether posts found to violate an existing law—such as in this case, where Delhi High Court’s rules prohibit unauthorised recording, publishing, or uploading of court proceedings—can be taken down automatically.
Datar, however, answered in the negative, adding, “Technically, it is not feasible to identify that ‘this particular image violates the Delhi HC rules’. But what happens is, the moment we get an order (from a court or designated government authority), we take it down within 24 hours.”
The court also added the Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY) as a party, seeking its response, as well as the appearance of the MeitY secretary before the court on the next date of hearing on July 6.
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Relying on the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021, the court noted that the social media intermediaries have an obligation through its own rules and policies to take reasonable efforts by itself to ensure that its users do not host, display, upload, modify, publish, transmit, store, update or share any information that violates any law for the time being in force.
Justice Rao orally remarked that the court is seeking a response from MeitY on the steps it has taken to ensure compliance with the said provision. The court has also sought responses from the social intermediary platforms.
In his PIL, Singh has alleged that Kejriwal’s decision to argue his recusal application himself on April 13 “was part of some conspiracy to gain public sentiments and malign the image of this noble institution”. Singh further sought the court’s direction to form a Special Investigation Team (SIT) to probe the conspiracy allegedly hatched by “Arvind Kejriwal and his party members for recording and sharing the audio and video of the court proceedings”.
Singh flagged that recordings of court proceedings and their posting on platforms are prohibited under the High Court of Delhi Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts, 2021, and also violate the Electronic Evidence and Video Conferencing Rules, 2025, of the Delhi High Court.
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Singh had in 2024 also filed a PIL in the high court against Kejriwal’s wife, Sunita, for the alleged unauthorised recording and posting of trial court proceedings, during which the then Delhi chief minister had personally addressed the court. The high court had subsequently ordered the removal of the videos from the platforms.
Sohini Ghosh is a Senior Correspondent at The Indian Express. Previously based in Ahmedabad covering Gujarat, she recently moved to the New Delhi bureau, where she primarily covers legal developments at the Delhi High Court
Professional Profile
Background: An alumna of the Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), she previously worked with ET NOW before joining The Indian Express.
Core Beats: Her reporting is currently centered on the Delhi High Court, with a focus on high-profile constitutional disputes, disputes over intellectual property, criminal and civil cases, issues of human rights and regulatory law (especially in the areas of technology and healthcare).
Earlier Specialty: In Gujarat, she was known for her rigorous coverage in the beats of crime, law and policy, and social justice issues, including the 2002 riot cases, 2008 serial bomb blast case, 2016 flogging of Dalits in Una, among others.
She has extensively covered health in the state, including being part of the team that revealed the segregation of wards at the state’s largest government hospital on lines of faith in April 2020.
With Ahmedabad being a UNESCO heritage city, she has widely covered urban development and heritage issues, including the redevelopment of the Sabarmati Ashram
Recent Notable Articles (Late 2025)
Her recent reporting from the Delhi High Court covers major political, constitutional, corporate, and public-interest legal battles:
High-Profile Case Coverage
She has extensively covered the various legal battles - including for compensation under the aegis of North East Delhi Riots Claims Commission - pertaining to the 2020 northeast Delhi riots, as well as 1984 anti-Sikh riots.
She has also led coverage at the intersection of technology and governance, and its impact on the citizenry, from, and beyond courtrooms — such as the government’s stakeholder consultations for framing AI-Deepfake policy.
Signature Style
Sohini is recognized for her sustained reporting from courtrooms and beyond. She specialises in breaking down dense legal arguments to make legalese accessible for readers. Her transition from Gujarat to Delhi has seen her expand her coverage on regulatory, corporate and intellectual property law, while maintaining a strong commitment to human rights and lacuna in the criminal justice system.
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