New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday (March 17) said that courts should not issue gag orders against media organisations and emphasised that fair criticism of a judicial order cannot be construed as contempt of court.A bench of Justices Abhay S. Oka and Ujjal Bhuyan made the observations as it expressed concerns over a Delhi High Court directive requiring Wikipedia to remove within 36 hours a page that related to a pending defamation suit of Rs. 2 crore filed by news agency Asian News International (ANI) against the platform, reported Hindustan Times.“Why should courts be touchy about some comments made against their orders in social media?” said the bench. The court remarked that it is ironical that despite itself being a media entity, ANI is was seeking a gag order against another platform that disseminates information.The bench also questioned the Delhi high court’s order in October last year which said that criticism of a judicial order by Wikipedia amounted to “interference in court proceedings.”“Sometimes, someone says that you are sitting here with a preconceived mind or that you are not giving a proper hearing. People say things, and we have to tolerate it,” said the court.The Supreme Court had intervened in the case after Wikipedia challenged the Delhi high court’s order.‘Courts must adjudicate on legal principles instead of taking offence’“Courts can’t pass gag orders. Someone may be proceeded against under a criminal contempt action, a notice will be issued, and the other side can opt to purge the contempt. But to tell someone to remove something just because there is some criticism of what the court has said or done is not okay,” the bench added.The court said that judges themselves are frequently the subject of public scrutiny and also critical remarks but instead of taking offence, the courts must adjudicate on legal principles.“So much is said about us even as we are judges. Someone says we are prejudiced. That’s their opinion, but we decide on law,” said the bench.In its defamation suit, ANI has sought to restrain Wikipedia from publishing content that is allegedly defamatory about the news agency’s page on its platform. It has also sought that the content be removed. The news agency has also sought Rs. 2 crores as damages from Wikipedia.Wikipedia’s page says ANI “has been criticized for having served as a propaganda tool for the incumbent central government, distributing materials from a vast network of fake news websites, and misreporting events
