(Image source from: PTI)
The Delhi High Court on Saturday directed Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's wife Sunita Kejriwal to remove videos of the court proceedings related to the excise policy case from social media. In this video, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national leader Arvind Kejriwal spoke. He is seen giving a speech in court. Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Amit Sharma, in a petition, issued notices to six people, including Sunita Kejriwal and social media intermediaries X (formerly Twitter), Mehta and YouTube, for violating video conferencing (VC) rules. Delhi High Court The Supreme Court also ordered that social media outlets must remove similar content if they come to know about its re-posting. The court posted the matter for further hearing on July 9 and issued an injunction on publication, forcing both parties to republish the content. “The decision should be served on them within 48 hours. Service should also be done in normal electronic mode,” the court said.
The Supreme Court was hearing a petition filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh. In his petition, Singh said when Arvind Kejriwal appeared in court on March 28 after his arrest in the Delhi Tax Act case, he decided to approach the court directly and record it. Media platforms are banned under the Delhi High Court Rules on Court Video Conferencing, 2021. According to this rule, no natural or legal person can file a case without obtaining permission. The video was said to have been reposted by Sunita Kejriwal and others. Lawyers for the social media platform Meta argued at the hearing that their client would not have to take any action if someone removed the content. He said: But if they don't remove it, we will follow the court's order and remove it. In response, the court stated that social media intermediaries must be removed if they are notified of the re-posting of the same content. The plaintiff told the court that YouTube sent him an email informing him that content had been removed from its platform.
In a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), the petitioner sought setting up of an SIT to investigate and register an FIR against the alleged conspiracy to record and distribute audio and video recordings of court proceedings and to promote judicial career. Danger. “Several members of the Aam Aadmi Party, members of various opposition parties deliberately, intentionally and purposefully circulated the audio and video recordings of the court proceedings on social media to defame and manipulate the trials. The petition reads: "Also." requested a thorough investigation in order to identify the persons responsible for recording and distributing the audio and video recordings of the court hearings. The petition states, "The accused should be punished as per the provisions of the Contempt of Court Act, 1971 and severe punishment should be imposed on those who violate the HC rules of the Contempt of Court Act, 2021." The petition calls on social media platforms to issue proper guidelines to prevent the recurrence of such unauthorized posts and impose fines on individuals or organizations for non-compliance. Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on March 21 in a money laundering case related to the "corruption" of Delhi's excise policy and lodged in Tihar jail.
