2 weeks Ago By Sharveya Parasnis
Explainer Briefly Slides Wikipedia told the Delhi High Court that it is willing to provide basic subscriber information (BSI) details about users who edited the page on Asian News International (ANI) in a sealed cover to the court, during an appeal hearing at the Delhi High Court on October 28. Bar and Bench reported that Wikipedia also offered to serve a notice to these users and notify ANI of the same, but without any identifying details. Senior Advocate Akhil Sibal, representing Wikipedia, said that this way the identities of the users would remain confidential while the Court would have all the necessary information.
Sibal said that all due steps would be taken based on the electronic information available about these users with Wikipedia. He also suggested that a consent order could be passed on this point. What are the cases? Wikipedia is currently appealing against a previous judge’s orders to reveal the identity of users who wrote or edited the page in front of a division bench comprising Chief Justice Manmohan and Justice Tushar Rao Gedela.
This hearing is linked to an existing lawsuit between the news agency and Wikipedia. ANI had filed an injunction seeking action against Wikipedia under Order 39, Rules 1 and 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure. These rules allow the court to issue an injunction against a party to prevent a breach of contract or other injuries.
What has happened so far? ANI sued Wikipedia for defamation, alleging that a Wikipedia page misrepresented the news agency. It alleged that the page described the news agency as a propaganda tool of the government and, thus, was publishing misinformation. ANI sought the removal of the content, alongside monetary damages.
ANI’s major contention was that being an intermediary viewed by many as a “public utility,” Wikipedia cannot behave as a private actor. Later, at a case hearing on October 25, ANI pushed to have the entire Wikipedia entry on the news agency to be taken down. In this hearing, the presiding judge, called the current Wikipedia model “dangerous” and scheduled the next hearing on October 28.
Earlier, in the same case, the division bench had asked Wikipedia to take down a page covering this very defamation case from its website, terming it an interference in court proceedings. The website also faced a contempt of court notice over the same. Also Read:.
