Clarion India
NEW DELHI – The Supreme Court of India has hinted that it could pass a ruling that can restrict the freedom of the accused to use social media, as a condition for granting bail.
Chief Justice of India S A Bobde on Friday drew parallels between social media and use of guns to back his argument in favour of barring the accused from using social media.
According to a report in News 18, the Chief Justice said: “What is wrong with an order asking you not to use social media? If a court can order an accused to stay away from a gun, it can similarly ask you to stay away from social media.”
The apex court was hearing an appeal by Congress leader Sachin Chaudhary, who has challenged criminal charges brought against him for conducting a press conference during the lockdown enforced to curb the spread of coronavirus. The police claim he violated the lockdown rules of the central and the UP government.
Chaudhary, who hails from Amroha area of Uttar Pradesh, was arrested in April by the police, invoking different sections of the Indian penal code, including sedition. He had also written posts on social media slamming Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh for “mishandling” the crises due to the coronavirus pandemic.
On May 20, the Allahabad High Court had granted bail to Chaudhary on the condition that he will not use social media for 18 months or until the trial concludes, whichever is earlier.
He went to the Supreme Court to challenge the order. His counsel, Salman Khurshid, former Union minister, contended that the order restricted Chaudhary’s right to freedom of expression.
But the court did not accept Khurshid’s argument and upheld the High Court order. It said: “We don’t see any problem with this order. If offences alleged against you are also about how you used social media, why cannot a restraint be issued?”
However, while rejecting the plea for lifting restrictions on Chaudhary, the court said that it would have to examine the matter in detail for proposing guidelines on the use of social media by criminals out on bail.
“We are inclined to entertain your petition but we will issue notices so that we can lay down proper guidelines on the matter of social media. We will pass orders on this after hearing all parties,” the bench said as it fixed the matter for August 28. It also issued a notice to the Centre and the UP government.
