Delhi HC Orders Google And X Corp To Remove Defamatory Posts About Om Birla’s Daughter

The Delhi High Court has ordered Google Inc and X Corp (formerly Twitter) to remove posts claiming that Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla’s daughter, Anjali Birla, passed her UPSC examinations in her very first attempt due to the influence of her father. Justice Navin Chawla issued an interim order, directing that such posts be removed within 24 hours and restrained the array of unknown defendants from making any further defamatory statements.

An IRPS officer, Anjali Birla, has launched a defamation case against social media platforms, asking them to take down some posts attributing her success to her father’s influence. Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar, representing Birla, submitted that in consequence of these posts, false and defamatory information is circulated and goes on circulating at an incredible pace, which is damaging her reputation.

The lawsuit alleges that this rumour mongering is done in order to dent the professional standing of Birla and to fabricate controversy against the incumbent government. Further, the petition said that the defamatory posts are put up with malafide intentions to defile not just Birla’s character but her father, Om Birla’s, too.

Apart from the criminal proceedings in the court, Anjali Birla has also filed a complaint before the Inspector General of Police, Cyber Cell, Maharashtra. In the complaint, she charged several persons with committing offenses under different provisions of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, 2023, and the Information Technology Act, 2000. An FIR dated July 5, 2024, was registered against X Corp and others under these allegations.