Delhi HC Disposes of Anjali Birla’s Defamation Case Against Social Media Platforms

Delhi HC Disposes of Anjali Birla’s Defamation Case Against Social Media Platforms
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By -  Jayanti |
13 May 2025 2:53 PM IST
Anjali Birla, an officer of the Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS), had approached the court seeking the removal of misleading social media content that falsely linked her professional achievement to her father’s position. She contended that several posts spread false, malicious, and defamatory claims, thereby distorting facts and causing reputational harm.

The Delhi High Court, on Tuesday, disposed of the defamation suit filed by Om Birla’s Daughter, Anjali Birla, against social media platforms in connection with posts alleging that she had cleared the UPSC examination in her first attempt through corrupt means.

The bench of Justice Jyoti Singh took note of submissions made by social media platform X, which stated that twelve out of the sixteen contested posts were voluntarily deleted by their original publishers. Access to the remaining four posts was restricted.

In its final order, the court directed the removal of the remaining four posts and instructed X to take down any additional defamatory content that might be brought to its attention by the plaintiff. Google was also directed to remove a previously blocked post.

The matter dated back to July 2023, when the court had directed Google Inc. and X Corp (formerly Twitter) to delete posts falsely alleging that Anjali Birla had succeeded in the UPSC civil services examination due to her father's political influence.

In addition, the court issued injunctions against unidentified parties, restraining them from making or circulating further defamatory statements concerning the issue.

The suit asserted that the defamatory content was deliberately circulated to damage her credibility and reputation without any factual basis. The plaintiff further submitted that certain individuals appeared to be targeting her to generate public outrage against the current government.

She also maintained that the legal proceedings aimed to protect her and her family’s reputation, including that of her father, Om Birla, the Speaker of the 18th Lok Sabha. The suit emphasised that there existed a concerted attempt to propagate false and disparaging narratives that could seriously impair their public image.

For Plaintiff: Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayyar with Advocates Vijay Kumar Arora, Sanyam Khetarpal, Aditya Bharat Manubarwala, Nitesh Goyal, Prakriti Anand and Lisa Sankrit

For Respondent: Advocates Neel Mason, Ekta Sharma, Pragya Jain and Surabhi Katare

Case Title: Anjali Birla v X corp (CS(OS)-573/2024)

[Inputs: ANI News]

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