Kashmir Impulse Desk
New Delhi, Aug 18
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre, states, Union Territories, and social media companies Meta and X on a petition seeking to stop police from posting material online that reveals the identities of accused people or portrays them in degrading ways.
A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant and comprising Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notices after hearing submissions from senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for petitioner Hemendra Patel.
The petition, filed through advocate-on-record Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, seeks directions to states to immediately remove posts from police social media accounts that disclose the faces or identities of accused people or depict them in a dehumanising manner.
It cites photographs and videos in which accused people are allegedly shown handcuffed, tied with ropes, beaten with sticks, forced to kneel, dragged or pulled down stairs.
The plea asks the states to frame guidelines governing police use of social media, particularly to prevent publication of such material in future.
It also seeks directions to Meta Platforms Inc and X Corp to formulate policies and user guidelines for Facebook, Instagram and X to prevent the publication of content revealing the identities of accused people or showing them being subjected to inhuman, derogatory or dehumanising treatment, including violence.
The petition further seeks a formal, transparent and structured mechanism through which users can report such material and have it removed promptly.
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Meta Platforms Inc and X Corp have been named as respondents.
