Delhi High Court Orders Blocking Of Websites With False Articles On Anant Ambani's Interview With Anand Narasimhan

Delhi High Court Orders Blocking Of Websites With False Articles On Anant Ambani's Interview With Anand Narasimhan

The Delhi High Court has ordered the blocking of rogue websites spreading false information about an interview between Reliance Industries Director Anant Ambani and TV18 journalist Anand Narasimhan.

Justice Sanjeev Narula ordered Meta and X to remove the related Facebook posts and tweets and to provide the details of the users who made these posts within four weeks.

“Block or remove the Facebook post available at the URL identified in paragraph no. 70 of the complaint. They shall, within four weeks from today, file in a sealed cover the complete details of the user who made the post, as are available with them. A copy of the said documents shall also be provided to counsel for plaintiffs, which shall be strictly used by them for the purpose of investigation and identification of the perpetrators,” Justice Narula ordered.

The court's decision followed a petition filed by CNBC TV18 and Narasimhan against eight websites hosting a fabricated article titled "CNBC-TV18 management refuses to comment on the scandal surrounding its interview 'Vantara (star of the forest)'". The article falsely linked Anant Ambani to a cryptocurrency trading platform, Everix Edge, claiming it offered astronomical returns through passive income. CNBC TV18 alleged that an article on one of the websites fabricated an interview with Ambani, which had originally been conducted by Plaintiff No. 6 and uploaded on Plaintiff No. 1's YouTube channel.

Furthermore, it was alleged that the misleading article references and redirects readers to a cryptocurrency trading platform called Everix Edge (Defendant No. 9), claiming it helps users earn passive income with astronomical returns. The article allegedly features a completely fabricated interview with Mr. Ambani and Defendant No. 6, where Mr. Ambani is purported to say that anyone can make money through passive income on the Defendant No. 9 platform.

Notably, the article quotes Mr. Ambani as claiming that anyone can register with Everix Edge with a minimum deposit of Rs. 26,000 and transform this amount into Rs. 10,00,000, yielding a 4,000% return within a few months. To lend credibility, the article is falsely presented as being published by the BBC, the renowned public broadcaster and news agency of the United Kingdom, as contended by the plaintiff.

The plaintiff also contended, “It is evident from the screenshot extracted above that the impugned article contains a picture from Mr. Narasimhan's interview in which Plaintiff No. 2 holds copyright. The said article is prima facie defrauding and scamming the public by using the name, likeness, image, and reputation of Plaintiff No. 6, a screengrab or screenshot of the interview in which the copyright is owned by Plaintiff No. 2, the name of Plaintiff No. 2's channel, CNBCTV18, and the mark that is deceptively similar to Plaintiff No. 1 and 2's marks and TV18 marks.”

The Court, thus satisfied with the case presented by Plaintiffs No. 1, 2, and 6, ordered the blocking of the websites.