Supreme Court defends media's right to criticize

The Supreme Court of India has stated that courts should not impose gag orders on media organizations. This statement came on Monday during a case involving a defamation suit filed by Asian News International (ANI) against Wikipedia. The court expressed that fair criticism of judicial decisions should not be seen as contempt. Justices Abhay S Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan pointed out that it is ironic for a media entity like ANI to seek a gag order against another media platform. They questioned the Delhi high court's order requiring Wikipedia to remove a page related to the defamation case. The high court had previously ruled that Wikipedia's comments interfered with court proceedings. The Supreme Court emphasized that criticism of judges should be tolerated and does not automatically lead to contempt. The justices noted that judges also face public scrutiny and that courts should focus on legal matters rather than take offense at criticism. The controversy sparked when Wikipedia created a page discussing the defamation case, which led ANI to file a contempt plea. The Delhi high court responded by directing Wikipedia to take down the page. This resulted in further disputes about the legal protections of Wikipedia under Indian law. Wikimedia Foundation challenged the high court's ruling in the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court decided to look into the case further, highlighting the importance of media free speech rights. A notice has been issued to ANI, and the matter is scheduled for a hearing later this month.