Supreme Court rules in favour of Wikipedia, scraps ANI page takedown order

The Supreme Court ruled that courts cannot direct media takedowns without proving real harm, as it overturned Delhi High Court's order against Wikipedia

The Supreme Court on Friday set aside the Delhi High Court’s directive asking the Wikimedia Foundation to take down a Wikipedia page titled ‘Asian News International vs Wikimedia Foundation’, which documented legal proceedings in a defamation case filed by ANI, reported Bar and Bench.

 

A bench of Justice Abhay S Oka and Justice Ujjal Bhuyan allowed Wikipedia’s appeal against the high court’s takedown order, stating that such a direction could not have been issued.

 

“We have no hesitation to hold that the direction issued by the high court could not have been issued,” the Supreme Court said.

 

The top court held that any such order must meet the tests of necessity and proportionality and should only be used when there is a real and substantial risk of prejudice to the administration of justice or fairness of a trial.

 

The bench also reiterated that courts should not direct the media to remove or delete content, and stressed the importance of open judicial proceedings. 

“Courts, as a public and open institution, must always remain open to public observations, debates and criticisms… it is not the duty of the court to tell the media, delete this, take that down,” it said. 

 

What is the case? 

The issue stems from a defamation suit filed by ANI, alleging that Wikipedia allowed defamatory edits on its page, including references to ANI as a “propaganda tool” for the government. On July 9, 2024, the Delhi High Court issued summons to Wikipedia and directed it to disclose the identities of three editors.

 

ANI later filed a contempt petition alleging non-compliance. Justice Navin Chawla directed a Wikimedia representative to appear personally in court. When the matter reached the division bench of Chief Justice Manmohan (now a Supreme Court judge) and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela, the court ordered Wikipedia to remove a page documenting the legal dispute itself. Wikipedia complied but filed an appeal before the Supreme Court.

 

The top court also set aside a separate interim order passed by the high court on April 2, which had directed Wikipedia to remove the allegedly defamatory content on ANI's Wikipedia page. That order was quashed on April 17. 

The defamation case will now be heard afresh by a single-judge bench of the Delhi High Court.