A Bengaluru court observed that uninformed persons who share false claims on social media are misusing the right to free speech. Nowadays such messages spread like wildfire and the public are prone to believe them before cross-checking their genuineness, the court observed.
"If the nature of the comments/posting is perused, they are highly derogatory and defamatory. Also, which is nothing but a sheer misuse of the right of freedom and speech expression," the court order read.
"The uninformed persons without knowing the repercussion on their baseless comments went on passing such scarilizing (sic) comments," it added. "Whoever involved in passing such comments are nothing but irresponsible and loose-minded, such an act requires to be regulated," the order said.
The court then passed an ex parte order directing social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, and WhatsApp to take down the image which claimed Supreme Court judges Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala were sharing a meal with NDTV founders Prannoy and Radhika Roy, along with Communist Party of India (M) leader Brinda Karat.
The two others in the photo are N Ram's wife Mariam and Tamil Nadu Finance Minister P Thiaga Rajan. The photo was taken by Dipali Sikand who owns the club MindEscapes where the July 1 lunch was held.
In the aftermath of the Supreme Court's adverse comments on Nupur Sharma, a photo went viral claiming Justices Surya Kant and JB Pardiwala, who rebuked Sharma for her remarks on the Prophet Mohammad, were seen lunching with the NDTV journalists and CPI (M) politicians.
On July 6, BOOM reported that this claim was false.
The Bengaluru Court's John Doe (or order against unknown persons) order was passed on Sikand's plea who alleged that the photo was defamatory. Sikand sought an injunction against three persons— Jagadeesh Laxman Singh, Siddharth Dey, and Sonalika Kumar—and unknown others from sharing the image with the false claim.
The court summoned on August 18 the three persons who have been named in Sikand's defamation suit.
The Principal City Civil and Sessions Judge observed that it was highly condemnable of a person to share untrue facts in the guise of communication. The judge said the nature of the social media posts as well as the comments it garnered were highly derogatory and defamatory.
"There is nothing wrong to bring the true facts to the knowledge of the public," the court pointed out saying the public had a right to know. sharing untrue facts was nothing but an attempt to damage the reputation of the Supreme Court judges and other people in the photo.
Also Read: Photo Of N Ram And TN Finance Minister Falsely Shared As SC Judges Kant And Pardiwala
