Karnataka HC notice to Google as Sri Lanka SC judge seeks removal of articles

Bengaluru: The High Court of Karnataka on Thursday ordered notices to the Ministry of Electronics and Google India in a petition filed by Justice A H M D Nawaz, a sitting Supreme Court judge of Sri Lanka. 

The petitioner sought directions to remove alleged defamatory articles pertaining to him and URLs of news reports. 

The court asked him to issue personal notices by email to the websites 'Colombo Telegraph' and 'Lanka enews', the other respondents in his petition. 

Justice Sachin Shankar Magadum adjourned the matter until March 16 for further consideration. 

The petitioner claimed that certain defamatory articles were published in 2015 and 2020. He submitted that the Sri Lankan Supreme Court had quashed the case against him and that no legal proceedings or criminal cases were pending. 

The petitioner stated that despite these legal conclusions, defamatory articles against him are still perpetrated through online platforms, particularly through Google’s Indian headquarters located in Bengaluru.

Beyond Lanka

He said the articles have traversed far beyond the shores of Sri Lanka and inflicted grievous damage upon his international reputation as jurist.