Delhi HC directs takedown of all links of Kejriwal's April 13 hearing, impleads Centre; issues notice to Kejriwal, Sisodia, others

New Delhi [India], April 23 : The Delhi High Court has directed removal of all social media links containing the April 13 proceedings before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the recusal plea moved by Arvind Kejriwal.

The Court was informed that the impugned links have already been taken down by Google and Meta. It has also impleaded the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as a respondent in the case and issued notice to all respondents, including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and others, seeking their replies.

A Bench of Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Arora was hearing a PIL filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh, which alleges that Kejriwal, Sisodia, journalist Ravish Kumar and others unauthorisedly recorded and circulated the court proceedings on social media platforms.

The Court noted that recording and uploading of court proceedings is expressly prohibited under the High Court's rules unless prior permission is granted. It also referred to Rule 3(1)(b)(xi) of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, which requires platforms to make reasonable efforts to prevent unlawful content.

During the hearing, the Court directed that any remaining links must be taken down and clarified that if such videos resurface, platforms must remove them promptly upon being informed, with intimation to the Registrar General.

The Bench expressed concern over the impact of such circulation on the judiciary, while intermediaries submitted that identifying the original uploader or automatically blocking such content remains technically difficult.

Senior Advocate Arvind P Datar, appearing for one platform, said the flagged content was removed after official communication and that intermediaries cannot act as censors.

Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the Court that the issue affects the institution of the judiciary and requires serious consideration.

The matter has now been listed for further hearing on July 6.

The matter was initially listed a day earlier before a Bench headed by the Chief Justice, but Justice Tejas Karia recused from hearing the case, following which it was placed before the present Bench.

The petition states that the April 13 hearing, where Arvind Kejriwal argued his recusal plea, was recorded without permission and widely circulated on social media in edited clips, allegedly distorting the proceedings and bringing disrepute to the judiciary.

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