The Delhi High Court on Friday observed that the Central Government can issue appropriate directions to social media intermediaries under the Information Technology Act to address the circulation of false and misleading posts claiming that the Chief Justice of India, several judges and Union Ministers had participated in a badminton tournament in London.

Vacation judge Justice Tejas Karia made the observation orally while hearing a petition filed by the Badminton Association of India.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta appearing for the Central Government told the Court that the claims were "completely false and misleading".

Senior Advocate Apoorv Kurup appearing for the Association submitted that the false campaign was not only disparaging the judiciary but was also ridiculing the sport of badminton.

"It's disparaging the judiciary which is very concerning as an officer of the Court. It's also making the sport a victim, by ridiculing the sport itself. They call it 'corporate sponsored badminton diplomacy'," he submitted.

Drawing the Court's attention to several online videos, Kurup referred to titles such as "The Hidden Truth About London Badminton, CJI, Law Minister Live, Uncover the Controversy" and "Why Are 75 Judges On A Vacation With Law Minister: Inside Story Live."

Kurup submitted that the event in question was merely a badminton tournament in which members of the Bar were free to participate and that the allegations being circulated online were entirely baseless.

Supporting the plea, SG Mehta submitted that the claims had been fact-checked and were found to be false.

He submitted that the photographs circulating on social media depicting Chief Justice of India Justice Surya Kant, Justice Vikram Nath, Union Law Minister Arjun Ram Meghwal and Union Minister Kiren Rijiju were from 2025 and had no connection with any badminton tournament in London.

"These photos are of a national level badminton tournament in November 2025 in Delhi. In this tournament judges and lawyers participated and on the inaugural day a token first match was played by the CJI, Justice Vikram Nath and the ministers," the SG submitted.

He added that though the CJI was on official visit to London for two days where he met the Chief Justice of England & Wales and attended a function in their Supreme Court, he never participated in any badminton tournament or sport activities. None of the ministers ever visited London during this period, he added.

The SG thus urged that the matter needs to be investigated and the originator of the misinformation must be identified.

"We can direct that the basic information of all users be provided to the IT Ministry...it is ultimately to the Union of India to take action under the IT Act. We can pass appropriate directions along those lines," the Court orally observed.

At this juncture, Kurup suggested that guidelines may be required to address the recurring problem of dissemination of such misinformation.

However, Justice Karia said, "all these companies are either media or intermediaries under IT Act. So you can very well issue directions. We will give directions to that effect."

Case: BADMINTON ASSOCIATION OF INDIA V/s UNION OF INDIA & ANR. [W.P.(C)-8284/2026]