The Delhi High Court on Tuesday agreed to hear on an urgent basis, a petition filed by Indian Railway Personnel Service (IRPS) officer Anjali Birla, seeking directions to take down social media posts, which alleged that she cleared the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) exams on her very first attempt because of the influence of her father and Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla.
Senior Advocate Rajiv Nayar mentioned the matter before the single-judge Bench of Justice Navin Chawla, which allowed an urgent hearing of the case today.
Filed through Advocates Sanyam Khetarpal and Aditya Manubarwala, the petitioner alleged that the claims made on social media against her were defamatory and false.
Several social media posts recently alleged that Anjali was a model by profession and that she cleared the UPSC exams in her very first attempt because of her father’s ‘powerful’ position.
The allegations followed the election of Om Birla as the Lok Sabha Speaker and the eruption of the NEET UG paper leak controversy.
The petitioner claimed that these social media handles were being operated in a ‘pre-planned conspiracy’ and guided by the motive of defaming her and her father.
She made X (formerly Twitter), Google, and John Doe (unknown people) party to her suit. The petitioner also submitted details of 16 X accounts, seeking relief against them. These include the parody account of YouTuber Dhruv Rathee.
Contrary to the claims made in the social media posts, Birla is not an IAS but an IRPS officer. She appeared for the UPSC exams in 2019 and joined the commission in April 2021. She completed her compulsory training in 2023.