The Delhi High Court has threatened to block Wikipedia in India over its failure to comply with a defamation case filed by ANI.
He Delhi High Court has launched a strong ultimatum to Wikipediathreatening to block the popular online encyclopedia in India. The court’s warning came during a hearing on a defamation case filed by news agency ANI against Wikipedia. Judge Navin Chawlawho presided over the case, expressed frustration at Wikipedia’s alleged failure to comply with an earlier court order.
The dispute centres on edits made to ANI’s Wikipedia page, which referred to the news agency as a “propaganda tool” for the Government of IndiaThe ANI has accused Wikipedia of failing to reveal the identity of the editors responsible for these controversial changes. According to the ANI, despite a previous court order to reveal information about three specific accounts, Wikipedia has not complied.
During the hearing, Judge Chawla was blunt in his response: “If you don’t like India, please don’t work in India,” he said. The judge also hinted at the possibility of asking the Indian government to block Wikipedia’s site if the issues are not resolved. The court’s frustration was evident as it dismissed Wikipedia’s explanation for the delay, which cited the platform’s lack of physical presence in India as a reason for not providing the requested information.
ANI is seeking Rs 20 crore in damages and has asked the court to order the removal of the disputed edits from its Wikipedia page. The news agency also wants to prevent similar content from being published in the future. The Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, has described itself as a “technology host” that does not add or edit content directly. However, this argument did not seem to satisfy the court.
The court has scheduled the next hearing for October and has ordered that a representative from Wikipedia be present. The outcome of this case could have major implications for the way online platforms handle content disputes in India.
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