Delhi HC orders Wikipedia to remove allegedly defamatory content about ANI

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday directed the Wikimedia Foundation, which runs the free online encyclopedia Wikipedia, to remove allegedly defamatory content about Asian News International from the news agency’s page, Live Law reported.

Justice Subramonium Prasad passed the order in response to an interim application by ANI seeking that the content be removed. The plea was part of a Rs 2 crore defamation suit filed by the news agency.

The judge said a copy of the detailed order would be made available on the court website on Wednesday evening, Bar and Bench reported.

The court had reserved its verdict on the interim application in December. It said at the time that it would examine news articles based on which the allegedly defamatory material about ANI had been added to Wikipedia.

The page about ANI says that the news agency has been criticised for serving as a “propaganda tool” for the current Union government.

ANI, in its suit, alleged that Wikimedia Foundation published false and defamatory content with malicious intent to tarnish the news agency’s reputation, according to Live Law.

On October 16, a High Court bench of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela directed the Wikimedia Foundation to take down a page about the ongoing proceedings in the defamation suit. The non-profit has since “suspended access” to the page.

The Wikimedia Foundation challenged the...

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