HC takes serious view of incendiary speeches being uploaded on social media platforms

Published - January 20, 2022 08:48 pm IST - Madurai

Taking a serious view of “incendiary speeches” being uploaded on social media platforms, including YouTube, the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court has asked why such platforms should not be added as abettor/accused in such cases.

Justice B. Pugalendhi said that social media platforms were being used to tarnish the image of some people and abet crimes. Steps should be taken to curb such activities, the judge said and sought a report from the State in this regard. He wanted to know what steps were being taken to prevent this and if there was a mechanism to regulate this. How can anything be published/uploaded on social media platforms, the judge asked.

The court was hearing the petition filed by the police seeking the cancellation of bail granted to Naam Tamilar Katch functionary and YouTuber Sattai Durai Murugan. The police submitted Durai Murugan had violated bail conditions.

Earlier in a separate petition, the court had granted bail to Durai Murugan, following an undertaking that he would not pass derogatory remarks against anyone.He had used the images of former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and BJP functionary Khushbu Sundar in a video . Subsequently, he had passed certain remarks against Chief Minister M.K. Stalin.

The court appointed advocate K.K. Ramakrishnan as amicus curiae to assist the court. The judge also asked other advocates to assist the court with their .submissions The State cannot be a silent spectator, the judge said.

During the course of the hearing, the judge was informed by the counsels that Goondas Act had been invoked against Durai Murugan and he was detained. The court adjourned the hearing in the case by a week.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.