Delhi HC Orders Social Media Platforms To Remove Videos Of Arvind Kejriwal's Court Hearing

Last Updated:April 23, 2026, 18:16 IST

The court directed Google to remove the specified links and submit an affidavit explaining its position.

The Delhi High Court on Thursday directed social media platforms to remove videos showing court proceedings involving Arvind Kejriwal and others. The order relates to a case connected to a recusal plea before Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma.

A bench of Justices V Kameswar Rao and Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora passed the directions while hearing a public interest litigation. The plea also seeks contempt action against Kejriwal, several Aam Aadmi Party leaders, and journalist Ravish Kumar for allegedly recording and sharing court proceedings without authorisation, according to a report by Live Law.

During the hearing, Meta informed the court that it had already removed some of the links flagged by the High Court’s Registrar General. However, Google said certain YouTube links were not taken down as they did not appear to contain recordings of the proceedings — a claim disputed by the petitioner.

The court directed Google to remove the specified links and submit an affidavit explaining its position. It also made it clear that if similar content appears on X, it must be taken down without delay.

Notices were issued to all respondents, including Kejriwal and the social media intermediaries. The bench also allowed the petitioner to directly flag such content to these platforms for prompt removal.

The court further issued notice to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, referring to the IT Rules, 2021, which require intermediaries to take reasonable steps to prevent unlawful content from being hosted or circulated.

The matter will be heard next on July 6.

During arguments, counsel for petitioner Vaibhav Singh said that proceedings held on April 13 were recorded and circulated online without permission. He alleged that selective clips were used to “scandalise" the judiciary and push a political narrative.

The bench also examined whether platforms could identify the original uploaders. Meta said it could provide basic subscriber details and IP logs, while Google maintained that such recordings originate outside its platform.

Questioning the role of intermediaries, the court asked why proactive steps could not be taken in the “larger interest of the institution". It observed that content violating the law should not be allowed to circulate freely.

Counsel for the platforms argued that identifying and removing such material remains technically difficult without specific URLs or formal legal directions, citing the Supreme Court’s ruling in Shreya Singhal v. Union of India.

The court, however, stressed that unauthorised recording and sharing of court proceedings is prohibited, raising concerns over the misuse of virtual hearing systems.

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