Sushree Mohanty
In response to a petition filed earlier this week, the Supreme Court on Monday sought response from the Centre seeking directions to make laws for curbing the social media platforms and holding popular social media sites like Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and alike liable for spreading hate speeches and fake news.
The bench comprising Chief Justice of India S.A. Bobde and Justices A.S. Bopanna and V. Ramasubramanian issued notice to the Centres and others and tagged it as pending petitions which sought setting up of a media tribunal to adjudicate on complaints against the media, channels and networks.
The direction came in response to a petition filed by Advocate Vineet Jindal through Advocate Raj Kishor Choudhary on October 31,2020 that requested for directions to establish laws in order to regulate the social media and hold criminal prosecutions against persons involved.
Additionally, it sought directions from the concerned authorities to set up mechanisms for automatic removal of posts carrying hate and fake news within a short time to curb the spreading of such news and minimise impact.
The petition stated that the media, especially the electronic media had become like an unruly horse which needs to be tamed.
The petition was filed in the wake of two tweets by Armin Navabi whose posts carried derogatory comments against Hindu Goddesses. In this context, it was opined that though freedom of speech is a natural and fundamental right guaranteed to the citizen under Art. 19(1) of Indian Constitution, however it is a complex right and carries with it certain duties and responsibilities and therefore is subject to certain restrictions as per Art. 19(2).
The plea also highlighted that it would be beneficial for the country to look into the regulations of other countries in order to frame new laws and maintain a balance between fundamental right of freedom of speech and direct accountability of social platforms.
After hearing to Mr Jindal’s plea’s, Chief Justice Bobde said, “Already there is plea on Media Tribunal, we will tag with that petition.”