Editors Guild slams Delhi court, MIB for Adani content takedowns, flags censorship risk

New Delhi: Several journalists and content creators have said they received notices from social media platforms and government authorities to remove “unverified and ex facie defamatory” content related to Adani Enterprises Limited (AEL) following a recent court order. The development has been described as “troubling” by the Editors Guild of India (EGI).

The Delhi court order restrained nine journalists, activists, and entities from publishing or circulating “unverified, unsubstantiated and ex facie defamatory” reports about AEL, directing them to remove such material within five days.

In a statement, the Editors Guild expressed “deep concern” over the order, noting that it not only mandated takedown of past content but also allowed the corporate entity to keep forwarding URLs and links it considered defamatory to intermediaries or government agencies, which would then be obliged to remove such content within 36 hours.

“This effectively gives a private corporation the power to determine what constitutes defamatory content regarding their affairs,” the Guild said, adding that such authority “extends the power to order content takedown.”

The Guild also criticised the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting’s role, calling it “equally troubling.” Acting on the court’s order, the ministry issued notices to platforms including YouTube and Instagram, directing the removal of more than 138 YouTube links and 83 Instagram posts.

According to the Guild, this combination of corporate discretion and ministerial enforcement amounts to a step towards censorship. “A free and fearless press is indispensable to democracy. Any system that allows private interests to unilaterally silence critical or uncomfortable voices poses a serious risk to the public’s right to know,” the statement said.

Satirist Akash Banerjee, who runs the YouTube channel Deshbhakt, said that he and several other independent YouTubers had been given 36 hours to remove more than 200 pieces of content, without any chance to contest the order.

Meanwhile, journalist Paranjoy Guha Thakurta has filed an appeal in a Delhi district court against the September 6 civil court order that restrained him from publishing or circulating allegedly defamatory content about AEL. “The matter is likely to be heard tomorrow (Wednesday),” a person familiar with the case told PTI.

Earlier, the civil judge, while hearing AEL’s defamation suit, directed defendants to take down already published material—including websites, articles, and social media posts—within a stipulated period.

The defendants in the case are Thakurta, Ravi Nair, Abir Dasgupta, Ayaskanta Das, Ayush Joshi, Bob Brown Foundation, Dreamscape Network International Pvt Ltd, Getup Ltd, Domain Directors Pvt Ltd trading as Instra, and John Doe parties.