Delhi HC Warns Wikipedia: "If You Don't Respect Indian Laws, Don't Work in India..."

The well-known and free online encyclopedia Wikipedia was sent a notice of contempt of court by the Delhi High Court on Thursday for failing to disclose changes made to an entry on the news service ANI. 

In a warning to Wikipedia, the court stated, "If you don't like India, please don't work in India... we will ask the government to block your site." Wikipedia was advised against breaking Indian laws.

ANI’s Issue with Wikipedia

In a lawsuit filed by ANI, the court said that Wikipedia had defamed the news organization by permitting specific revisions to a page containing its material. In the purported edit, ANI was described as "the propaganda tool" of the Indian government. The court required Wikipedia to provide information about the three accounts that made the edits, but according to ANI today, this information has not been made public.

ANI also noted that Wikipedia hasn't confirmed whether the three individuals named in the case were responsible for the edits or not.

Wikipedia Banned in India?

Wikipedia explained to the court that the delay in providing the requested information was due to pending documents from their side, which was further delayed because Wikipedia is not based in India.

However, Justice Navin Chawla was not satisfied with this explanation. According to a report by Bar and Bench, the judge said, "It's not about you not being an Indian entity. We can stop your business here and ask the government to block Wikipedia. You've used this excuse before as well."

"If you don't like India, please don't work in India... We will ask government to block Wikipedia in India."

Delhi High Court issues contempt of court notice to Wikipedia for not complying with the Court's order directing it to disclose info about people who made edits on ANI's… pic.twitter.com/fB3SFjN3pO

— Bar and Bench (@barandbench) September 5, 2024

Justice Chawla further said, "If you don't like India, please don't work in India."

What is the ANI-Wikipedia Case?

This incident is related to the ongoing legal dispute between ANI Media Private Limited and the Wikimedia Foundation, the parent company of Wikipedia, which started in July. As part of this dispute, ANI filed a contempt plea against Wikipedia, claiming that the latter had failed to comply with a court order requesting information.

ANI filed a defamation lawsuit against Wikipedia in July, alleging that the latter had written a defamatory description of the news agency. This marked the beginning of the legal fight.

The news agency ANI is displeased with specific sections of the article that state that it "has been criticised for having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events" and that it has been accused of following an "aggressive model" that prioritizes maximum revenue output at the expense of "easily dispensing journalists."

In response to ANI’s lawsuit, the Wikimedia Foundation published a statement identifying itself as a "technology host" and clarified that it does not modify or add to content already published on Wikipedia.

According to the Foundation, the content published on the site is "determined by its global community of volunteer editors... who compile and share information on notable subjects".

The next court hearing is scheduled for the month of October. The court has ordered that a representative of the corporation be present for the next hearing on the topic.