GG News Bureau
New Delhi, 7th August. Social media giant X Corp has argued before the Delhi High Court that a directive to remove posts deemed defamatory by journalist Rajat Sharma from all countries would violate international law and the principles of national sovereignty.
In an affidavit filed in response to Sharma’s contempt application, X Corp contended that such an order would be inconsistent with international legal norms and could potentially allow foreign courts to influence content accessible within India. X Corp stated that if a court could dictate what information is accessible globally, it would mean that courts in countries like Pakistan or China could also impose restrictions on what Indian citizens can view online.
“Such an order would interfere with the rights of Indian citizens, over whom that foreign court has no jurisdiction. Thus, the plaintiff’s argument would lead to unacceptable results,” the affidavit said. It emphasized that X Corp has adhered to the court’s injunction by geo-blocking the disputed URLs within India but argued that global removal would breach the sovereignty of other nations and be unenforceable outside India.
The controversy began when Sharma filed a defamation suit seeking the removal of alleged offensive posts and videos from social media, as well as restraining Congress leaders Jairam Ramesh, Pawan Khera, and Ragini Nayak from making further allegations. Sharma claimed he was defamed over the use of abusive language during his show on Lok Sabha election results.
In response to Sharma’s contempt plea, which accuses X Corp and the Congress leaders of failing to comply with a judicial order, X Corp’s affidavit argued that the injunction’s directive to “remove” or “block” URLs does not necessitate global removal. The company asserted that such a requirement would violate international law and exceed the court’s jurisdiction.
X Corp’s affidavit also pointed out that similar posts have not been globally removed by other websites, and the request for worldwide removal is unmerited. The court is scheduled to hear the contempt plea on August 22.
The dispute gained attention after Nayak accused Sharma of abuse during a June 4 debate on his show. Sharma, the chairman and editor-in-chief of Independent News Service Private Limited (INDIA TV), claimed that a video clip of the debate, which was circulated by Congress leaders on June 10 and 11, was altered to include abusive language not present in the original footage.
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