Whether Group Admin of online forum is Liable For Defamatory Texts Made By A Member?
Similarly, I am unable to understand as to how the Administrator of a Group can be held liable for defamation even if any, by the statements made by a member of the Group. To make an Administrator of an online platform liable for defamation would be like making the manufacturer of the newsprint on which defamatory statements are published liable for defamation. When an online platform is created, the creator thereof cannot expect any of the members thereof to indulge in defamation and defamatory statements made by any member of the group cannot make the Administrator liable therefor. It is not as if without the Administrator's approval of each of the statements, the statements cannot be posted by any of the members of the Group on the said platform.
In the High Court of Delhi at New Delhi
(Before Rajiv Sahai Endlaw, J.)
Ashish Bhalla
v.
Suresh Chawdhary & Ors
CS (OS) No. 188/2016; IA No. 4901/2016 (u/O 39 R-1&2 CPC); IA No. 8988/2016 (of D-2 u/O 7 R-11 CPC); IA No. 9553/2016 (of defendants No. 1 and 3 under Order VII Rule 11 CPC); and IA No. 9554/2016 (of defendant No. 6 under order VII Rule 11 CPC); and IA No. 11830/2016 (under Order I Rule 10 CPC)
Decided on November 29, 2016
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2016 SCC OnLine Del 6329
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