The Supreme Court has taken note of concerns over police organisations allegedly publishing social media content that reveals the identities of accused persons, or depicts them in humiliating and degrading situations. The court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre, all state governments, Union Territories, and social media platforms Meta and X on a public interest litigation seeking restrictions on such posts.
The Petition Behind the Case
A Bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana issued notices after hearing submissions from senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for petitioner Hemendra Patel. The petition was filed through advocate-on-record Shrutanjay Bhardwaj.
The petition alleges that police departments sometimes publish photographs and videos on their official social media accounts in which the faces and identities of accused persons are clearly visible. It also refers to material allegedly showing accused persons in handcuffs, tied with ropes, beaten with sticks, forced to kneel, or dragged by police personnel. Some photographs and videos are also alleged to show accused persons being pulled down staircases.
What the Petitioner Is Asking For
The petitioner has sought directions to states and Union Territories to immediately remove such content from official police social media accounts. The plea also seeks clear guidelines governing the use of social media by police organisations, so that material revealing the identity of accused persons, or depicting them in an inhuman or degrading manner, is not published in the first place.
The petition has also sought directions for Meta-owned Facebook and Instagram, as well as X, to formulate appropriate policies and user guidelines to prevent the circulation of such content. The plea argues that social media platforms should have mechanisms in place to address posts that expose the identity of accused persons or portray them as being subjected to degrading treatment.
The Legal Question at the Heart of the Case
The issue before the court fundamentally involves balancing public communication by law enforcement agencies against the legal rights and dignity of accused persons. Publication of photographs or videos before allegations are established in court can potentially affect the reputation of an accused, raising real concerns about the principle of a fair legal process. The responses sought by the Supreme Court will indicate how the Centre, states, and social media platforms view this issue moving forward.
A Separate Concern Raised With Meta
Separately, the Centre has also conveyed concerns to Meta over content related to child sexual abuse. According to government sources, the company has been told that there can be no legal protection for violations of Indian law involving child sexual abuse material, and that content monitoring and removal mechanisms should take India's languages, culture, and social circumstances into account.
Officials have maintained that the objective isn't to suppress legitimate expression, but rather to prevent the misuse of social media from causing harm to society. The government has also pointed to the legal restrictions applicable to freedom of expression in India, alongside the growing debate over accountability of digital platforms in dealing with unlawful content.
According to figures cited in the context of government monitoring, agencies issued around 1.95 lakh content-blocking orders to Instagram, Facebook, and YouTube between March and July. Instagram received approximately one lakh of these orders, followed by Facebook with around 80,000 and YouTube with nearly 15,000. Together, the two Meta-owned platforms accounted for about 90 percent of the orders issued across the three platforms.
What Comes Next
The Supreme Court's intervention comes amid growing scrutiny of how law enforcement agencies use social media to publicise arrests and investigations. While such communication can genuinely help inform the public about police action, the petition raises important questions about whether official platforms should publish identifiable images of accused persons in circumstances that may compromise their dignity.
The notices issued by the Supreme Court now require the Centre, state governments, Union Territories, and the concerned social media companies to respond to the issues raised in the petition. These proceedings could eventually lead to clearer standards governing the publication and circulation of photographs and videos involving accused persons on official police social media accounts.
FAQs
Q1. What is the main issue raised in the petition before the Supreme Court?
The petition raises concerns over police departments publishing photographs and videos on social media that reveal accused persons' identities or depict them in humiliating and degrading situations before their guilt is established in court.
Q2. Who has the Supreme Court sought responses from?
The court sought responses from the Centre, all state governments, Union Territories, and social media platforms Meta and X.
Q3. What separate concern has the Centre raised with Meta?
The Centre has told Meta that there is no legal protection for violations of Indian law involving child sexual abuse material, emphasising that content monitoring should account for India's languages, culture, and social circumstances.