Delhi High Court questions Abhijit Iyer-Mitra on retweet making remarks against judiciary

The Delhi High Court on Tuesday asked journalist and writer Abhijit Iyer-Mitra whether it should 'turn a somersault' to order restoration of his Twitter account after he retweeted a tweet that called the Indian judiciary "biased, unaccountable and self-serving" [Abhijit Iyer Mitra v Twitter Communications India Pvt Ltd & Anr]..Justice Prateek Jalan said that he knows that many people hold such a view, and that he is comfortable with the notion that people think this of the judiciary.“He (Iyer-Mitra) seems to be a gentleman who does repose his faith in the judiciary of this country when it comes to asserting his own rights…Then I would be quite interested in hearing, even if it is not a matter of this suit, just for my general knowledge that what is the implication of retweeting a tweet of this nature and whether it has any consequence on his right of an equitable injunction in his favour,” the Bench remarked..The Court was hearing a suit by Iyer-Mitra seeking access to his Twitter account after he was locked out of it for putting out a tweet about the Supreme Court granting bail to Alt News co-founder Mohammed Zubair..While examining the suit, the judge noted that Iyer-Mitra had retweeted a tweet by one Lalitha Kumaramangalam which made certain remarks against the judiciary..Appearing for Iyer-Mitra, Advocate Raghav Awasthi argued that personally, he does not agree with such a view and it is his sense that retweets are not an endorsement.“Sometimes, these things are said on social media and a lot of retweets are done,” he said.Awasthi added that this retweet was not the subject matter of the suit and that he will obtain instructions from his client..However, Justice Jalan said that unfortunately, his eyes have fallen on the tweet, and that Iyer-Mitra will have to justify his own actions.“Unfortunately, I do not have to give an injunction or unblocking orders on your (Awasthi’s) account. The injunction you are asking for is on behalf of Mr Iyer-Mitra. Mr Iyer-Mitra will have to justify his own actions.”.The Court was also informed that even though summons have been issued, Twitter is yet to file its response in the matter.Twitter’s counsel said that due to the change in ownership of the social media giant and the ensuing layoffs, there has been some delay in filing the response.The judge, therefore, granted Twitter four more weeks to file its response and listed the matter for further consideration on February 16, 2023..Delhi High Court issues summons on suit by Abhijit Iyer Mitra seeking restoration of his Twitter account