We have removed objectionable content, Google, Yahoo and Microsoft tells Delhi Court

Internet Giants Google Inc, Yahoo Inc. and Microsoft Corporation on Thursday told a Delhi Court that they have already removed alleged objectionable contents from their web posts knowing their responsibility service providers.

The search engine giants in separately written statements said to the court that the court should ordered to withdraw allegations levelled against them.

Filling the statement before Administrative Civil Judge Praveen Singh, Google India said that Google Inc was aware of its responsibilities as a service provider and has a system to ensure that "rights and interests" of all relevant parties were well protected.

The US-based firm said the alleged objectionable contents were removed after its Indian subsidiary Google India brought them to the notice of the service provider. It sought the dismissal of the civil suit.

Besides the trio, Orkut, Facebook and YouTube on Thursday also filed their written submissions in the court.

Earlier, the court on 20 December 2011 in a ex-parte order had issued summons to 22 social networking websites asking them to remove "anti-religious" or "anti-social" contents from their sites.

The court had also asked the websites to file the compliance reports in pursuance of the direction to remove the objectionable contents in the form of photographs, videos or texts which might hurt religious sentiments.

On December 24, 2012 the court had set the deadline to remove the content from their websites by February 06, 2012.

The court's order had come in the backdrop of Telecommunication Minister Kapil Sibal's anger over allegedly publishing some controversial pictures of congress top brass and anti-religious contents over social networking sites. Kapil had asked the companies to remove the contents as soon as possible or in case of failure, he allegedly threatened to ban websites like China did in its country.