On Tuesday, the Supreme Court noted that online sources such as Wikipedia are built on a crowd-sourced and user-generated editing model that is not totally reliable and can encourage incorrect information. A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath acknowledged the usefulness of platforms that allow open access to knowledge throughout the world but advised against utilizing such sources for judicial conflict resolution.
“We say so for the reason that these sources, despite being a treasure trove of knowledge, are based on a crowd-sourced and user-generated editing model that is not completely dependable in terms of academic veracity and can promote misleading information as has been noted by this court on previous occasions also,” the bench said on Tuesday.
The Supreme Court stated that courts and adjudicating bodies should make every effort to urge counsel to depend on more reputable and genuine sources. The remarks were made in a decision concerning the proper categorization of imported ‘All in One Integrated Desktop Computers’ under the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act of 1985.
The Supreme Court observed that adjudicating agencies, particularly the Commissioner of Customs (Appeal), relied heavily on internet sources such as Wikipedia to support their judgments. The court also noted that Wikipedia is an online encyclopedia and information can be entered therein by any person and as such, it may not be authentic.
In 2010, former Supreme Court Justice Markandey Katju referenced to Wikipedia for searching the meaning of the word “common law marriage” while delivering a verdict.
Reports mention that Justice Katju had used material from Wikipedia to develop four-point criteria and rule that live-in relationships must satisfy it in order to be classified as a “relationship” like the nature of marriage under the Prevention of Domestic Violence Act, 2005.
