HC refuses to stay takedown of ANI defamatory description on Wikipedia page
This story was originally published at 16:28 IST on 8 April 2025
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NEW DELHI – The division bench of the Delhi High Court on Tuesday refused to stay a single-judge bench's direction to Wikipedia to take down the alleged defamatory description of ANI Media Pvt. Ltd. from its platform. The division bench said that Wikipedia and its host Wikimedia Foundation would be liable to follow the The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and if the defamatory content is not taken down within 36 hours, ANI Media can approach this court.
However, the division bench stayed the single judge's order which had asked Wikipedia and its host to remove the protection status imposed on the ANI page. The court also stayed the order which restricted Wikipedia's users and administrators from publishing anything defamatory against ANI Media on its platform. The division bench said if similar defamatory material comes up on Wikipedia, ANI Media can inform the platform and the platform will take it down.
The division bench said Wikipedia was nothing but an online encyclopedia and the intention of the publisher ought to be to take a neutral stance. The court perused the live website of Wikipedia's ANI page and said it seemed to suggest there was substantial content wherein allegations are raised against ANI such as bias and other defamatory things.
On Apr. 2, the single-judge bench had passed the interim injunction order in favour of ANI Media in a defamatory suit by the agency. ANI also sought damages worth INR 20 million from the US non-profit organisation.
The Wikipedia page says that ANI Media consistently acts at the behest of the government of India and the Bharatiya Janata Party. The page states that ANI Media is a 'propaganda tool' and a 'mouthpiece' for the government of India and the BJP. Further, the page says that ANI Media is engaged in 'low quality journalism' that led to news organisations ceasing their subscription with the agency. In addition, the Wikipedia page states that ANI Media is engaged in the spread of fake news or false news and it mistreats its employees and staff. End
Reported by Surya Tripathi
Edited by Avishek Dutta
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