Delhi High Court gives X 36 hours to disclose info on users who posted Shazia Ilmi altercation video

The Delhi High Court yesterday rejected an application filed by X Corp (formerly Twitter) seeking a modification of a direction to provide basic subscriber information (BSI) of users who had uploaded a video of an altercation between Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Shazia Ilmi and an India Today journalist..The Court had earlier ordered the takedown of this 18-second video clip, which involved footage of Ilmi after she withdrew from a debate with India Today.In an April 4 order, the Court held that such a video recording violated Ilmi's right to privacy and cannot remain online. .Later, on April 9, the Court issued contempt of court notices to X users who had uploaded this clip in violation of court orders. It also directed X to share the BSI details of such persons. X had filed an application seeking a modification of this direction to disclose BSI details.Justice Manmeet Pritam Singh Arora on Thursday rejected this plea and directed the X Corp to provide the BSI details within 36 hours. "The Applicant (X Corp) will provide the BSI details within 36 hours as per the April 9 order. The direction for takedown of posts has already been complied with," the Court said..The judge also took exception to the continued violation of its April 4 takedown order by X users."It was surprising that people were using the judgment and video together. It was a mockery of the judgment," the Court said..Representing X, Senior Advocate Rajshekhar Rao requested the Court to allow the submission of BSI details in a sealed cover. Some of the information sought is not even in the public domain, he said. He requested that such details be masked. .The judge, however, expressed her reservations."I am unable to appreciate this argument. This is not the case where X can say it will not provide the information. In this matter, I am summoning them. How do I summon them without them being a part of my record? This party has to come to my court, Registry has to serve," the Court stated.Nevertheless, at the request of X, the Court eventually kept open the question of how far the privacy of X users whose BSI has been sought should be preserved. "The contentions raised in this application regarding the privacy of the users of X Corp is kept reserved to be determined in the appropriate proceedings and cannot be determined in this matter," the Court stated. The case will be heard next on August 29. .The matter is tied to a July 26, 2024, debate hosted by journalist Rajdeep Sardesai on India Today, for which Ilmi was invited to speak. She attended the debate remotely, from her home. During the show, Sardesai and Ilmi clashed after she tried to intervene when Major General (Retired) Yash Mor was pointing out the shortcomings in the Agnipath scheme. As Ilmi intervened, Sardesai said that the former General was putting forth “hard facts."Ilmi responded, “Don’t sermonise”. A heated argument followed between Sardesai and Ilmi for several minutes, after which Ilmi left the show..That same night, Ilmi posted a tweet on her X account accusing Sardesai of bringing down her fader (volume) on the show.“Remember I have been on both the sides and know how to handle bullies like you. BTW it doesn’t behove political propagandists masquerading as journalists to sermonise,” she posted.The next morning, Sardesai shared a video on his X account alleging that Ilmi had abused the India Today video journalist present at her home. Sardesai claimed that after Ilmi decided to withdraw from the debate, she threw a mic at an India Today Journalist and threw him out of her house.Ilmi, replied that it was her privacy that was violated as the India Today journalist continued to shoot the video even after she had withdrawn from the show. She then filed a defamation suit before the High Court. In August 2024, the Court passed an interim order directing Sardesai to take down the video uploaded by him on his personal account. This direction was confirmed by the High Court's April 4, 2024 order. .[Read live coverage]