Hyderabad: The Supreme Court of India on Monday issued notice to the Union Government of India and Twitter in connection with the posting of Islamic phobic posts. While hearing a Special Leave Petition (SLP) filed by the city-based lawyer Khaja Aijazuddin, Justice A. M. Khanwilkar’s bench directed the Solicitor general of India to file a counter.
The Apex court in it’s order directed the Solicitor General of India Tushar Mehta to file a counter on behalf of the Union Cabinet Secretary, Government of India, Home Secretary Ministry of Home Affairs, while the petitioner was given liberty to take out personal notices to Twitter Inc, Director General of Police, Telangana State and Police Commissioner Hyderabad.
The Lawyer Khaja Aijazuddin has pleaded with the Supreme Court of India to issue directions to the Government of India for registering criminal complaints against Twitter and its users for allegedly posting Islamophobic posts.
In his SLP he pleaded that the appropriate agency, either the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) or the National Investigation Agency (NIA), conduct investigations against Twitter and its users who were involved in inflammatory posts.
He urged the court to direct the Government of India and the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to frame guidelines as envisaged under the provisions of the IT Act, 2000, pertaining to hate messages against any religious community including Islamophobic posts on various social media platforms.
Aggrieved with inflammatory trending on Twitter under the name and styled Islamic #coronavirusjihad, #Nizamuddinidiots, #Coronajihad, #TabIighijamat, #TablighiJamatVirus, and in many ways attaching religion to pandemic disease on social media. Khaja Aijazuddin filed a Writ petition with the Supreme Court in April 2020 and the Apex court had directed the petitioner to approach Telangana high court for seeking relief.
The petitioner in his SLP contended that though Director General of Police Telangana and Police Commissioner Hyderabad has issued notices to Twitter under Section 91 CrPC even without registering an FIR in the said matter.
He contended that no police investigation can take place without the filing of an FIR as has been laid down by the Supreme Court.
Twitter is performing the function of mode of communication and delivery of information to the public at large, all over the world. Therefore, even though Twitter is a private body, its functioning is under a statute IT Act 2000 and the Rules framed thereunder.
On April 22, 2021, while delivering the final judgment a bench comprising Chief Justice Hima Kohli and Justice Vijay Sen Reddy of Telangana High court directed the Lawyer to approach the Supreme Court since the issue is of pan India and only the Apex court has the jurisdiction over the matter.
