Excise policy ‘scam’: Delhi High Court orders Sunita Kejriwal to take down video of court proceedings
New Delhi, June 15
The Delhi High Court on Saturday ordered Sunita Kejriwal to take down from social media platforms a video in which her husband and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is seen addressing a trial court.
A Bench led by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna issued notices to Sunita Kejriwal, social media intermediaries X, Meta and YouTube on a petition alleging violation of video conferencing rules of the Delhi High Court.
The Bench – which also included Justice Amit Sharma — directed the social media platforms to take down similar content that has been re-posted, if brought to their notice. It restrained the parties from re-posting the content in question.
Passing an ex-parte ad-interim order on a petition filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh, the Bench listed the matter for further hearing on July 9.
“…the order be communicated to them within 48 hours. Service be also effected through ordinary and electronic mode,” the HC said, asking Singh to serve the unserved respondents.
Arrested in the money laundering case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam on March 21, Arvind Kejriwal is currently lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody.
Singh has demanded an FIR and an SIT probe into the alleged conspiracy behind recording and sharing the audio and video clips of court proceedings that allegedly put the trial court judge’s life at risk. He also sought to “punish the alleged contemnor as per the provisions of the Contempt of Courts Act, 1971, and impose strict penalties on the individuals found guilty of violation of VC Rules 2021 of this Hon’ble court, as per the provisions specified in law”.
When Arvind Kejriwal was produced before a Delhi court on March 28 after his arrest in a case linked to the Delhi excise policy scam, he chose to address the court in-person, and the video recording of the proceedings was posted on social media platforms which is prohibited under the High Court of Delhi Rules for Video Conferencing for Courts, 2021, Singh pointed out.
The Rules prohibited unauthorised recording of court proceedings by any person or entity, Singh said, adding, the video was allegedly re-posted by Sunita Kejriwal and the others.
Meta counsel told the Bench that if those who have posted the content take it down, nothing remains for his client to do. “However, if they don’t take it down we will take it down pursuant to court orders,” he said.
The Bench said whenever re-posting of identical content was brought to their notice, social media intermediaries have to take it down.
Singh informed the court that YouTube had sent an email saying that it had removed the content from its platform.
