Wikipedia model not completely dependable, cautions SC

THE SUPREME Court on Tuesday cautioned courts and adjudicating authorities from relying on sources such as Wikipedia for dispute resolution, saying it follows a “user generated editing model that is not completely dependable in terms of academic veracity and can” even “promote misleading information…”.

A bench of Justices Surya Kant and Vikram Nath said this in its judgment in a case which raised the question regarding correct classification of imported ‘AllinOne Integrated Desktop Computer’ under the First Schedule to the Central Excise Tariff Act, 1985.

The bench noted that the adjudicating authorities, especially the Commissioner of Customs (Appeal), while coming to their respective conclusions, had extensively referred to online sources such as Wikipedia to support their conclusions.