Addictive Learning Technology Limited filed a suit against four individuals over allegedly defamatory tweets in a conversation thread on X. According to the Plaintiff, the tweets on X were harmful, derogatory, and damaging to their reputation and that the tweets were spreading false information. Whereas, the Defendants argued that the tweets were their honest opinion and in response to the Plaintiff.
The Court held that alleged defamatory statements were made on a conversational social media platform. However, traditional defamation principles which are applicable to newspapers and magazines could not be directly applied to the interactive nature of social media discussions. Further, such platforms are considered to be a casual medium of communication. The discussions on social media platforms are not reliable or considered to be verified sources of information. According to the Court, posts on social media platform can be either appreciated or criticised and the user should be able to bear the criticism. The Court dismissed the suit with costs amounting to INR 1,00,000.
Source: Addictive Learning Technology Limited v. Aditya Narayan Garg & Ors. [2025 SCC OnLine Del 1124]