The judgement by the Delhi High Court in the Baba Ramdev Defamation case delivered on October 23, 2019 against Face Book, Google, and Twitter is a very matured and erudite interpretation of some of the provisions of Information Technology Act 2000 (ITA 2000). It will have a long term implication on the way “Intermediary Liability” is interpreted and international jurisdiction is applied in Internet related cases.
Credit is due to the counsel Mr Darpan Wadhwa and his team for bringing out some very powerful arguments as well as the honourable Justice Pratibha M Singh, for appreciating the arguments and delivering a bold and path breaking order.
The order challenges the interpretations that are derived from some of the recent international judgments such as CNIL Vs Google and will definitely be challenged in the Supreme Court for a more detailed argument and establishment of certain principles that will uphold the judicial maturity of Indian Courts.
I hope that the Supreme Court bench which will consider the appeal will be able to show the same kind of vision and technical understanding that the Delhi High Court has shown in this case and uphold some of the principles that this judgement has justified.
The judgement requires a more detailed analysis and comment which we shall do in due course.
Naavi
