Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Kejriwal Court Hearing Videos from Social Media
Court directs major platforms to take down unauthorised clips, issues notices to key individuals
New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has ordered the removal of videos related to court proceedings involving Arvind Kejriwal from social media platforms. The court instructed companies such as Meta, Google, and X to immediately take down content showing proceedings where Kejriwal had sought the recusal of Justice Surana Kanta Sharma.
The order was passed by a division bench comprising Justice V Kameswar Rao and Justice Manpreet Pritam Singh Arora while hearing a public interest petition. The plea alleged that the videos were recorded and circulated without authorisation, potentially undermining the dignity of the court.
The petitioner also named several prominent figures in the case, including journalist Ravish Kumar, Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, and Aam Aadmi Party leaders such as Manish Sisodia and Sanjay Singh, among others. The court has issued notices to all concerned individuals, seeking their responses.
During the hearing, Meta’s counsel informed the court that action had already been taken on Facebook and Instagram in line with earlier directions. Google stated that some of the flagged videos on YouTube were not actual recordings of court proceedings. However, the bench directed that any video containing clips from the proceedings must also be removed. Similar instructions were issued to platform X.
The matter is linked to the Delhi excise policy case, in which the Central Bureau of Investigation has challenged the relief granted to Kejriwal and other accused by a trial court. Kejriwal and others had earlier requested Justice Sharma to step aside from the case, citing concerns over possible bias.
Justice Sharma recently rejected the recusal plea, stating that stepping aside would amount to avoiding responsibility rather than serving justice. She emphasized that the strength of the judiciary lies in delivering impartial decisions despite allegations, and confirmed that hearings would continue without prejudice.
The next hearing in the CBI case is scheduled for April 29. The case involves allegations that changes to Delhi’s former liquor policy benefited certain wholesale traders and opened the door to corruption. However, a trial court in February acquitted Kejriwal and 22 others, citing lack of evidence for a large scale criminal conspiracy.
Political observers view the case as part of the ongoing tussle between the Aam Aadmi Party and central agencies, while legal experts warn that unauthorised recording of court proceedings could lead to stricter judicial action in the future.