The Delhi high court has directed the Union government to take down viral posts falsely claiming that Chief Justice of India Surya Kant, several Supreme Court judges and Union ministers had travelled to London to participate in a badminton tournament at public expense.
The court observed that such false information brought disrepute to judicial institutions and eroded public confidence in the justice delivery system.
A vacation bench of justice Tejas Karia noted that the posts were on the face of it, false, malicious and derogatory to the judiciary, the executive and the sport of badminton.
The court directed the Centre to issue a notification directing social media intermediaries to take down and block access to false news articles and videos related to the event.
The court also directed the intermediaries to preserve and furnish information of uploaders and account operators involved in disseminating the alleged content, to the government which shall take appropriate legal action.
