Delhi High Court Orders Removal of Online Posts Over Claims About Judges' London Badminton Trip

PTI, June 20, 2026, New Delhi: The Delhi High Court has directed social media companies, search engines, web-hosting platforms, and online service providers to take down "false" information being spread online that several Indian judges and Union ministers participated in a badminton tournament in London earlier this month at taxpayers' money.

On Friday, the matter was mentioned for urgent listing before a vacation bench of Justice Tejas Karia.

The bench said, "The impugned content is ex facie false, malicious and derogatory to the judiciary, the executive and the sport of badminton. The continued circulation and dissemination of such content has a direct bearing on the reputation of these institutions and, if not restrained forthwith, is likely to erode public confidence in the justice delivery system."

It said the material placed on record indicates a systematic misinformation campaign intended to malign the reputation of the Chief Justice of India, the judges of the Supreme Court of India, and the high courts.

"It further appears that the Union ministers have also been unnecessarily targeted through the dissemination of false and misleading information. The institution of the judiciary is sought to be undermined through the use of social media platforms, search engines, web-hosting platforms, digital media platforms and other online services," the bench said.

It noted that a false narrative was propagated that judges and ministers undertook foreign travel at public expense to participate in a sporting event, which is entirely "false and fabricated", according to a PIB Fact Check, and was also reconfirmed by the submissions made by Solicitor General Tushar Mehta.

The bench said that the dissemination of such false and misleading information, particularly when directed against the constitutional courts, has the potential to cause serious and irreversible injury to public confidence in the justice delivery system.

It directed the Centre and others to issue a notification directing all concerned intermediaries, including social media firms, search engines, web-hosting platforms, digital platforms, internet service providers and other online service providers, to take down the content purporting to depict the alleged participation in the badminton tournament.

It also directed the removal of any identical, mirrored, modified, edited, clipped, reproduced, reuploaded, derivative or substantially similar versions within 24 hours of receipt of the notification.

"The respondents (Centre and others) shall also issue a notification in terms of this order to all uploaders, news portals, bloggers, account holders and other concerned persons, directing them to take down the impugned content and restraining them from uploading, publishing, hosting, communicating to the public, circulating, distributing, posting, tweeting, sharing, reproducing, transmitting or otherwise disseminating or making available, directly or indirectly, the content," the bench said.

It restrained members of the public from uploading, publishing, circulating, sharing or otherwise disseminating the impugned content on any social media platform or online medium.

Directing a status report from the authorities concerned, the court has posted the matter on July 17 for further proceedings.