The Delhi High Court has reserved its judgment on a petition filed by the Badminton Association of India (BAI) seeking removal of social media posts and online content falsely claiming that Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant, several Supreme Court judges and Union Ministers had travelled to London to participate in a government-sponsored badminton tournament at public expense.
The single-judge Bench of Justice Tejas Karia observed on Friday that the Union government was empowered to issue appropriate directions to social media intermediaries under the Information Technology (IT) Act, 2000, to address the circulation of such content. The Court directed the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) to examine the grievance and take action in accordance with law.
Appearing for the Union Government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta submitted that the allegations were entirely false and were intended to create a fabricated narrative involving constitutional authorities. He argued that despite official clarifications and fact-checking efforts, the misinformation continued to spread across digital platforms.
According to the petitioner, the viral posts falsely claimed that CJI Surya Kant, Supreme Court judge Justice Vikram Nath, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal, Parliamentary Affairs Minister Kiren Rijiju and several other judges and government officials had travelled to London to participate in a badminton tournament.
The Centre informed the Court that the photographs being circulated were actually taken during the All India Judges’ Badminton Championship held at Thyagaraj Stadium in New Delhi in November 2025 and were being falsely portrayed as images from an overseas event.
BAI contended that the misleading posts had caused reputational harm to the judiciary, public institutions and the sporting body. The Centre further submitted that it may be necessary to identify individuals responsible for originating and amplifying the false claims.
The single-judge Bench observed that social media intermediaries and online platforms could be directed to furnish basic information relating to users disseminating such content. The Court, however, indicated that any further action against such content or its originators would have to be undertaken within the statutory framework provided under the IT Act and administered by the Central government. After hearing the parties, the Court reserved its order.
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