The Supreme Court upheld the Delhi Assembly panel s right to summon Facebook.
New Delhi:
Observing that digital platforms like Facebook have become power centres with ability to influence opinions, the Supreme Court on Thursday said they must be accountable, adding it is difficult to accept the simplistic approach adopted by Facebook that it is merely a platform posting third party information and has no role in generating, controlling or modulating that matter.
Further observing that the national capital can ill-afford any repetition of the riots witnessed last year, the Supreme Court stressed that unity in diversity of India cannot be disrupted and the role of Facebook in this context must be looked into by the powers that be.
Delhi Can’t Afford February 2020 Like Riots, Facebook Role Must Be Looked Into: Supreme Court
Entities like Facebook, which has around 270 million users in India, have to remain accountable to those who entrust them with such power, the Supreme Court said.
Outlook Web Bureau 09 July 2021, Last Updated at 8:17 am File Photo Outlook Web Bureau 2021-07-09T08:03:37+05:30 Delhi Can’t Afford February 2020 Like Riots, Facebook Role Must Be Looked Into: Supreme Court outlookindia.com 2021-07-09T08:17:16+05:30
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Underlining that “the capital of the country can ill-afford any repetition” of an occurrence like the February 2020 riots, the Supreme Court Thursday came down heavily on social media platform Facebook, saying its role “in this context must be looked into by the powers that be” and this was why it had been summoned by the Delhi Assembly.
Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Stressing the importance of social media, the Supreme Court on Thursday said such platforms have become power centres unto themselves, having the ability to influence vast sections of opinions. Dealing with a plea related to the summons issued to Facebook by the Delhi Assembly’s Peace and Harmony Committee in connection with Delhi riots, a bench of Justices Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy commented, “Facebook has the power of not simply a hand but a fist, gloved as it may be. They cannot wash their hands of the issue as this is their very business. Their role is not as innocuous as they are seeking to contend,” the court said with of Facebook’s role in Delhi riots.
Role of Facebook in Delhi riots must be probed, social media entities should remain accountable: Supreme Court india.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from india.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
SC calls for curtailing time to argue cases
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The top court cited the American and English conventions to argue that lawyers should stop quoting precedents in cases in which the facts are the same and the law is well accepted.
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The Supreme Court on Thursday frowned upon a tendency in the bar to make unending legal submissions, which it said consumed precious judicial time and led to piling up of cases, and called for a debate on the need to limit the time lawyers can argue for their clients in court.
“Delays in judicial proceedings have been the bane of our country and there cannot be a refusal to part ways from old practices, especially when they have outlived their purpose. It is the litigants who bear the costs of our complex and prolonged adjudicatory process,” the court observed.