Trolls, fake news and more: Supreme Court agrees there should be rules to stop social media abuse

“They should sit in the Supreme Court to see how the government is hauled up,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud observed. Uncharitable comments, trolls and aggressive reactions on social media platforms on almost every issue, including judges and judicial proceedings, came under the scanner of the Supreme Court.

Uncharitable comments, trolls and aggressive reactions on social media platforms on almost every issue, including judges and judicial proceedings, came under the scanner of the Supreme Court which expressed concern over it and agreed that regulating them was necessary.

The apex court also disapproved and expressed anguish over a statement made by a senior advocate and former Supreme Court Bar Association President that most of the judges are pro-government.

“They should sit in the Supreme Court to see how the government is hauled up,” a bench comprising Chief Justice Dipak Misra and Justices A M Khanwilkar and D Y Chandrachud observed.

The concern of the bench found strong support from two eminent lawyers, Fali S Nariman and Harish Salve, who are assisting the apex court in a matter relating to the comment made by former UP Minister Azam Khan in a highway gangrape case.

“I have deleted my Twitter account. It was so abusive,” Salve said, adding that once when he was appearing in a case relating to a Christian medical college and the subsequent happenings on his Twitter handle forced him to delete it.

“I have stopped looking at them,” Nariman said, adding that unwarranted comments about almost everything can be found on these platforms.