The Delhi High Court today directed social media platforms to remove links hosting unauthorised recordings of court proceedings in the matter involving Arvind Kejriwal, which was heard by Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma on a recusal plea in the excise policy case.
A Bench of Justices V. Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora observed that such material cannot be allowed to circulate in violation of rules governing virtual hearings, remarking, “Anything that violates law cannot be permitted to be circulated.” The Court also flagged concerns over repeated uploads of such content and directed intermediaries to act on flagged links and ensure prompt takedown in the larger interest of the institution.
The case arose from a public interest litigation filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh, who alleged that portions of an April 13 hearing were recorded and widely shared online without the court’s permission.
During the hearing, the bench observed that the dissemination of such material cannot be permitted. It also noted obligations under the IT Rules, 2021, requiring intermediaries to act against unlawful content.
Counsel for platforms, including Google and Meta, submitted that content is removed upon receiving specific URLs, pointing to technical limitations in proactively identifying such videos. The court granted liberty to the petitioner to notify platforms of any additional links carrying such content and directed that they be taken down upon intimation. Notice has also been issued to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity), with the matter scheduled for further hearing on July 6, 2026.
Also read- “I Will Not Recuse”: Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma Declines Arvind Kejriwal’s Recusal Application