New Delhi: The Delhi Excessive Court docket on Thursday gave a stern warning to Wikipedia. The court docket mentioned that if it doesn’t comply with the legal guidelines of India, the web site will probably be blocked. Together with this, the court docket additionally served a discover to Wikipedia for contempt of court docket. Information company ANI had filed a defamation case towards Wikipedia, wherein the platform was accused of calling the information company a propaganda device of the federal government. Together with the demand to take away the content material, ANI has additionally sought damages of Rs 2 crore.
‘In the event you don’t love India, then do not work right here’
The decide informed Wikipedia’s lawyer that I’ll apply contempt, it isn’t a query of the primary respondent [Wikipedia] not being an entity in India. We are going to cease what you are promoting transactions right here. We are going to ask the federal government to dam Wikipedia, you folks have argued this earlier than as effectively. In the event you don’t love India, please do not work in India. Wikipedia had not disclosed the small print of three member accounts that made edits on ANI’s web page.
Wikipedia’s argument and ANI’s response
The court docket’s warning got here after Wikipedia’s counsel argued that the corporate was not based mostly in India and sought time to make additional submissions as an alternative of complying with the court docket’s earlier order. Issuing a discover of contempt on a plea filed by ANI, the Delhi Excessive Court docket directed Wikipedia to make sure that its authorised consultant seems in individual on October 25, the subsequent date of listening to.
The information company has sought an order restraining the web portal from permitting the allegedly defamatory edit content material to stay on the web page about ANI on Wikipedia and its removing in addition to compensation of Rs 2 crore. ANI has argued that the content material within the particulars is defamatory and Wikipedia, an middleman, is a platform used as a public utility and thus can’t behave as a non-public sector agency.