Wikipedia summoned by Delhi High Court over ANI defamation allegations

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday (July 9) issued summons to Wikipedia  in response to a defamation suit filed by news agency ANI. The suit alleges that Wikipedia has allowed defamatory edits on its page about the news agency, reported Bar and Bench.

Justice Navin Chawla issued the summons and notice regarding ANI's interim relief plea, scheduling the next hearing for August 20.

The Wikipedia page describes ANI as a "propaganda tool for the incumbent central government," which is accused of distributing materials from a network of fake news websites and misreporting events. ANI claims this description is defamatory and that Wikipedia has restricted edits to their page.

Advocate Sidhant Kumar, representing ANI, argued that Wikipedia selectively allows edits on the news agency's page. "They have closed my (ANI's) page for editing by anyone and can only be edited through their representatives," he stated.

ANI contends these statements are false and misleading, asserting, "This malicious conduct of the Defendants ex-facie establishes their ulterior motives of defaming Plaintiff by publishing false and misleading content against Plaintiff." The news agency also highlighted the damage to its reputation and harassment from the public and associates globally, the report said.

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