Delhi HC closes defamation suit filed by Om Birla's daughter against social media allegations

The bench of Justice Jyoti Singh considered submissions from social media platform X, which reported that 12 of the 16 disputed posts had been voluntarily removed by their originators. At the same time, access to the remaining four had been restricted.

In its order, the court directed the removal of the remaining four posts and instructed X to remove any additional defamatory content brought to its attention by Birla. Furthermore, Google was ordered to delete a previously blocked post.

In July 2023, the Delhi High Court had directed Google Inc. and X Corp (formerly known as Twitter) to remove posts or content falsely alleging that Anjali Birla cleared the UPSC exam in her first attempt due to her father's influence.

Additionally, the court restricted unidentified defendants, prohibiting them from making further defamatory allegations related to the matter. Anjali Birla, an IRPS officer, had initiated legal proceedings to seek the removal of misleading social media posts that falsely linked her UPSC success to political influence.

The plaintiff emphasised that several social media posts spread false and defamatory information, misrepresenting facts and harming her reputation.

The suit argued that these unfounded allegations were deliberately being circulated to unlawfully damage the plaintiff's credibility through defamatory narratives. Based on this claim alone, the plaintiff asserted that the lawsuit should prevail on its merits.

Furthermore, the suit alleged that specific individuals were attempting to tarnish the plaintiff's professional reputation without any factual basis, seemingly to generate controversy against the present government, specifically targeting her.

The plaintiff also contended that the lawsuit aimed to prevent the defendants from misusing and damaging the reputation of her and her family, including her father, Om Birla, the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. She maintained that there was a concerted effort to spread false and disparaging information that could harm their standing. (ANI)