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Synopsis

Justice Yashwant Varma of the Delhi High Court on Thursday, waived of the fine of Rs.25,000, imposed on former- interim Director, CBI and retired IPS Officer M. Nageswara Rao in May, dismissing his petition challenging Twitter's decision to remove the verification badge from his account.

The court was hearing a petition filed by Rao, alleging the removal of his Twitter account’s blue tick in March, and an unconditional apology for the same.

Justice Varma observed, “Bearing in mind the unconditional apology which has been tendered on behalf of the petitioner, the imposition of costs of Rs. 25,000/- in terms of the order of May 17, 2022, shall stand deleted.”

Earlier, on May 17, Justice Varma noted that Rao filed a petition before the High Court which was disposed of on April 7, 2022, directing him to re-apply for the Twitter verification.

Court also noted that another petition was filed regarding his Twitter account with identical prayers account and stated that there was absolutely no justification for the current writ petition being filed, especially since the previous writ petition was disposed of on April 7, 2022.

Furthermore, the court stated that Rao cannot be held to have caused inordinate delay in deciding the representation, nor can it be claimed that he has suffered serious prejudice or irreparable harm, which would have justified the filing of the current writ petition.

Case Title: M. Nageswara Rao v. Union of India & Anr.