New Delhi: The Delhi High Court on Thursday, April 23, 2026, issued notices to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, and journalist Ravish Kumar in response to a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking contempt action. The petition, filed by advocate Vaibhav Singh, alleges that the respondents unauthorizedly recorded and circulated video clips of court proceedings on social media platforms, violating the High Court’s rules regarding the confidentiality and integrity of judicial sessions. The case specifically pertains to a hearing held on April 13, 2026, where Kejriwal had argued for the recusal of Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma in the liquor policy case.
A division bench comprising Justice V. Kameswar Rao and Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora directed all social media intermediaries, including Google, Meta, and X, to immediately remove the offending video links. The bench expressed grave concern over the impact such circulation could have on the judiciary’s image, noting that the unauthorized recording and subsequent editing of clips to serve a “political agenda” undermines the independence of the institution. The court has impleaded the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) as a respondent and sought its stand on the matter, emphasizing the obligations of platforms under the Information Technology Rules, 2021.
During the hearing, representatives for Meta and Google informed the court that several flagged URLs had already been taken down following communication from the Registrar General. However, they highlighted the technical difficulty of proactively blocking re-uploads or identifying the original uploader without a targeted investigation. The High Court has granted the petitioner the liberty to provide further links for removal and has scheduled the next hearing for July 6, 2026. The bench reiterated that under High Court rules, recording or publishing court proceedings without prior judicial permission is strictly prohibited and can lead to serious legal consequences.
