New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday issued notices to the Centre, all States and Union Territories, and social media platforms X and Meta on a plea challenging the practice of police departments posting photographs and videos of accused persons on their official social media accounts.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana heard the petition, which seeks safeguards against the publication of content that reveals the identity of accused persons or portrays them in a degrading, humiliating or inhuman manner.
Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the petitioner.
Plea seeks removal of accused persons’ images
The petition seeks directions to police departments to remove posts from their official social media accounts that reveal the faces or identities of accused persons, particularly where the images show them in humiliating circumstances.
The plea specifically refers to photographs and videos allegedly showing accused persons handcuffed, tied with ropes, beaten with sticks, forced to kneel or dragged downstairs.
It seeks safeguards to prevent police authorities from publishing such material on their official social media platforms, arguing for greater protection of the dignity and privacy of accused persons.
Guidelines sought for police social media use
The petitioner has also sought comprehensive guidelines regulating how police departments use social media.
The proposed guidelines would prevent police authorities from uploading photographs, videos or other content that either identifies accused persons or depicts them in a degrading or inhuman manner.
The plea further seeks directions for social media companies, including Meta-owned Instagram and Facebook, to establish appropriate policies and reporting mechanisms to prevent such content from being circulated and enable its prompt removal when reported.
Earlier petition disposed of in March
The issue had previously come before the Supreme Court through a similar petition filed by the same petitioner. That matter was disposed of in March after the Court indicated that its earlier directions concerning police interaction with the media could also extend to social media platforms.
The petitioner had subsequently withdrawn the earlier plea while reserving the right to approach the court with a broader petition.
The present petition has been filed through Advocate-on-Record Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj.
The Supreme Court’s notice does not mean that the Court has imposed a ban on police posting photographs of accused persons. The matter is currently at the stage of seeking responses from the concerned authorities and platforms.