Delhi High Court orders takedown of posts linking BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam to Ankita Bhandari murder case

The Hindu
The Hindu
2h ago
The Delhi High Court ordered the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party to remove social media posts linking BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case and restrained further posts targeting him as the alleged “VIP.”
Delhi High Court orders takedown of posts linking BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam to Ankita Bhandari murder case
A What happened
The Delhi High Court ordered the Congress and Aam Aadmi Party to remove social media posts linking BJP leader Dushyant Kumar Gautam to the 2022 Ankita Bhandari murder case. Justice Mini Pushkarna restrained the two parties from posting any content targeting Gautam as the alleged “VIP” in the case. The court said social media platforms would remove the content if it was not taken down within 24 hours and directed platforms to take down identical content once flagged by Gautam. The interim order also applied to other persons and entities including actor Urmila Sanawar and the Uttarakhand Pradesh Congress Committee.

Key insights

  • 1

    Court set a 24-hour takedown window: The court said social media platforms would remove the content as per the rules if it was not taken down within 24 hours.

  • 2

    Order covered reposts of the same material: The court asked social media platforms to take down identical content once it was flagged by Gautam.

  • 3

    Interim relief based on prima facie case and irreparable injury: The court said Gautam made out a prima facie case and that irreparable injury would be caused if the interim restraint on hosting the content was not granted.

Takeaways

The Delhi High Court issued interim directions requiring removal of posts linking Dushyant Kumar Gautam to the Ankita Bhandari murder case and restricting further similar content, with enforcement through social media platforms.

Topics

World & Politics Elections Law & Public Safety Crime & Justice Courts

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