Delhi High Court Orders X To Remove Kejriwal Court Proceeding Videos, Seeks Centre's Response

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed X Corp (formerly Twitter) to remove social media posts featuring Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convenor Arvind Kejriwal arguing his case. The court also sought the Centre’s response on steps to ensure users do not share information that violates the law.

The direction came during a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh, who is seeking contempt proceedings against Kejriwal, several other politicians, and journalist Ravish Kumar. The petition alleges the unauthorized circulation of audio and video recordings from April 13, during which Kejriwal argued his plea seeking the recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the alleged liquor policy scam case.

Court Proceedings And Platform Compliance

A Division Bench of Justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora noted that recording and uploading court proceedings is expressly prohibited under the High Court of Delhi Rules unless prior permission is granted.

During the hearing, the court was informed that platforms like Google (YouTube) and Meta (Facebook/Instagram) had already removed the flagged content following a communication from the Registrar General. However, X Corp did not appear before the court during the proceedings, leading to the specific directive against the platform

Senior Advocate Arvind Datar, appearing for Meta, informed the court that while they comply with takedown orders within 24 hours, technically identifying prohibited content automatically is not feasible. The court, however, directed Google to remove any remaining links and clarified that if such videos resurface, platforms must remove them promptly upon being informed.

The court raised a significant query: whether posts found to violate existing law can be taken down automatically without specific court orders . Relying on the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the bench noted that social media intermediaries have an obligation to make reasonable efforts to ensure users do not host information that violates any law.

The court also added the Ministry of Information Technology (MeitY) as a party, seeking its response and the appearance of the MeitY secretary on the next date of hearing . Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma told the court that the issue affects the credibility and institution of the judiciary and requires serious consideration.