A Division Bench consisting of Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Amit Sharma also directed social media platforms such as X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to remove similar content when it comes to their attention.
NEW DELHI: Today, June 14: The Delhi High Court ordered Sunita Kejriwal, wife of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, to remove a video recording of court proceedings where her husband addressed the court following his arrest in the excise policy case.
A Division Bench consisting of Justices Neena Bansal Krishna and Amit Sharma also directed social media platforms such as X (Twitter), Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube to remove similar content when it comes to their attention.
The Court instructed several other social media handles to take down the video as well.
The Bench issued notices to Sunita Kejriwal, the social media platforms, and other social media handles that had posted the video.
The order was given while hearing a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh.
Singh argued that Sunita Kejriwal and various social media handles associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had posted the audio and video of Arvind Kejriwal addressing the Rouse Avenue court.
Singh contended that recording court proceedings is prohibited under the “High Court of Delhi Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts 2021,” and making these videos viral was an attempt to tarnish the judiciary and judges’ image.
He alleged that posting such videos was part of a conspiracy orchestrated by Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP.
“The above circumstances suggest a preplanned conspiracy to record the audio and video of the court proceedings, orchestrated by Mr. Arvind Kejriwal and his party members. Mr. Kejriwal had never before nor after presented his case in court, indicating that his appearance on March 28, 2024, was part of a conspiracy to gain public sympathy,” the petitioner submitted.
The Delhi Chief Minister had personally addressed the Court when he was presented before Special Judge (PC Act) Kaveri Baweja following his arrest in the Delhi excise policy case.
Advocate Vaibhav Singh sought a probe by the Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the incident.
He claimed that after Kejriwal addressed the Rouse Avenue Court on March 28, several social media handles associated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and other opposition parties recorded the court proceedings and posted them on social media platforms.
On March 28, Kejriwal was brought before the Court by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in connection with the Delhi liquor policy case. Kejriwal addressed the court in person, accusing the ED of running an extortion racket for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
According to Singh, shortly after the hearing, numerous social media handles began “posting, reposting, forwarding, sharing, and resharing” the audio and video recordings of the court proceedings.
Sunita Kejriwal reposted an audio recording uploaded by an X (Twitter) account named Akshay.
Case Title: Vaibhav Singh v. Sunita Kejriwal & Ors
