The Wikimedia Foundation (WMF) was ordered by the Delhi High Court on Wednesday to remove a page on Wikipedia that discusses the news agency ANI’s defamation lawsuit against the Foundation within 36 hours, stating that the page is “prima facie contemptuous.”
A split bench consisting of Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela issued the directive after making it apparent that they would only consider WMF’s argument on its merits if the page was removed. WMF promised the court that it would follow its directives. In a defamation lawsuit brought by Asian News, the bench was considering an appeal filed by WMF against a single-judge ruling from August 20 that ordered the Foundation to reveal the identities of four administrators.
“Didn’t say I am not going to comply with court orders, or we are not subject to orders of this court, that’s why we are availing ourselves of legal remedies,” WMF told the court through senior counsel Akhil Sibal. Nevertheless, it is hardly a defiant attitude to presume ahead of time that we will disobey commands and thumb our noses. We are not concerned with this specific complaint; we only intended to say that, in our opinion, it would set a risky precedent for all future lawsuits.
Taking strong issue with a page on the platform called “Asian News International vs. Wikimedia Foundation,” the court noted that the page’s instructions for a single judge to reveal the identities of the editors who made the edits amounted to “censorship and a
This court believes that the single judge’s ruling and the description of the contested order are prima facie contemptuous and constitute interference with the legal process. On the surface, the appellant/defendant (WMF) apparently breached the sub judice principle. Additionally, this court is aware that the appellant’s website opened for discussion of the remarks this court made during the most recent hearing.