Delhi HC directs Wikipedia to remove page with defamatory content on ANI
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Wednesday ordered Wikimedia Foundation to remove the allegedly defamatory content and description of news agency Asian News International (ANI) on its Wikipedia page.
Justice Subramonium Prasad, who heard the petition, disposed of ANI’s plea for interim injunction asking for an order for the removal of the content and also to restrain Wikipedia from publishing the matter on the news agency's page on its platform.
In addition, ANI has filed a Rs 2 crore defamation suit against Wikimedia Foundation for posting the content on the page, which says that ANI ‘has been criticized for having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events.’
The news agency has accused Wikimedia Foundation of publishing false and defamatory content with an intention of tarnishing the agency’s reputation and to discredit its goodwill.
The Delhi HC had directed Wikipedia in August 2024 to disclose to ANI the subscriber details of the three individuals available with it within two weeks.
Wikipedia, however, challenged the court order before the division bench, which later ordered that the page in question be taken down. The bench noted that adverse comments were made against the single judge on the page, saying it was prima facie contemptuous.
Wikipedia's petition in court was disposed of after both the parties entered into a consent order and resolved the matter. The division bench asked the single judge to proceed ahead with the defamation suit. In November, Justice Prasad had issued summons to three individuals who had allegedly edited the Wikipedia page of ANI.
Recently, the Supreme Court issued notice following Wikipedia's appeal against the order of the division bench to remove the Wikipedia page relating to the defamation dispute.
Senior advocate Jayant Mehta argued in the High Court on behalf of Wikipedia during the hearing on Wednesday, while advocate Sidhant Kumar represented ANI.
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People of Assam have made Pawan Khera eat pera, mocks Himanta Biswa Sarma
Dispur: In the backdrop of the BJP-led NDA’s sweeping win in the Assam elections on Monday, Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma hit out at the Congress party, picking senior leader of the rival party Pawan Khera who had alleged that Sarma’s wife had multiple passports.
Speaking to BJP activists and reporters after the poll results were announced, the CM opined that Khera should no longer hold the position of spokesperson in the Congress, adding, “The people of Assam have Pawan Khera eat ‘pera’.”
Sarma, who called the people’s mandate in the state both historic and emotional, said, “The state’s image had started changing since 2016, under the influence of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah. Assam is now being considered a development-orientated state because of them.”
Commenting on the Congress leadership, the CM said that the people believed the BJP’s allegations during the campaign. “Congress leaders, however, faced rejection from their own communities,” he claimed and added that the BJP government would continue raising certain issues even after the elections.
