The Delhi High Court has issued orders to remove false and misleading news spread on social media against the Chief Justice and other judges within 24 hours. There was a false report that Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and other judges and Union ministers had traveled to London to attend a sports event at government expense. Describing the news as completely false and baseless, the High Court ordered the central government to ban all social media. They sought orders to remove these resources from Internet search engines and digital publications. Apart from this, common people are also prohibited from spreading such misleading information online.
The High Court observed that such false reports have the potential to undermine public confidence in the country’s judiciary. The court said the incident appeared to be part of a planned conspiracy to defame the Chief Justice and judges of the Supreme and High Courts. The court heard the Badminton Association of India’s plea. The petition claims that the publicity that some judges participated in the government sponsored international competition held in London on June 7 is completely false.
The government clarified in the court that the pictures circulating on the internet were actually of a national-level match held at a sports hall in Delhi in November. Not London. The Union government said the Chief Justice did not attend any of the London Games and Union Ministers mentioned in the news did not visit the UK during the period. The report was earlier dismissed by the government’s official fact-checking team. The court will take legal action against those who are spreading this fake news.The next hearing in this regard will be held in Julyb.