The Ripura High Court on Friday passed an order and called upon social media platforms to act responsibly in the wake of the recent violence in the state.
New Delhi: The Tripura High Court on Friday passed an order and called upon social media platforms to act responsibly in the wake of the recent violence in the state.
A division bench of Chief Justice Inderjit Mahanti and Justice Subhasish Talpatra directed the state to take appropriate steps to prevent fake news articles from appearing on social media. The court was hearing a petition which was taken up on its own in connection with the recent violence at Panisagar in North Tripura district.
“We direct the State to initiate appropriate action against all such social media platforms to ensure that such false, fictional and/or fabricated news articles or visual footage does not appear on the social media platforms and if they Even if they do, they are removed. At the earliest,” the court said.
The court also called upon social media platforms to act responsibly from Friday. “The media, as a part of its activities, has every right to publish the truth. It should not be allowed to be used to spread untruths and to spread communal tension. We, the respondents, have been sent to this court on or before November 10.” , 2021 specifically to deal with the preventive measures which they had taken or what is their plan to incite communal tension or to incite violence,” the copy of the order said. Is.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 12, 2021. Appreciating the role of the state government, the court asked for a detailed affidavit with regard to the development of the investigation and other action being taken by the government to restore peace and tranquility.
“Today’s local newspapers of Tripura indicate that an uneasy calm prevails. The authorities need to ensure that the incidents that happened on October 26, 2021 do not recur. It is further informed that all necessary measures are being taken by the State. Steps should be taken to ensure that such incidents do not recur. In view of the developments mentioned herein above, this Court also considers it appropriate to take note of the fact that various Peace Committees were constituted at different places. where communal conflict exists,” read the order copy.
Appreciating such efforts on the part of the State, this Court also appreciated the steps taken by various political parties to restore peace and order within the State. Taking cognizance of media reports, the court said, “These steps, in our view, will go a long way in gaining the confidence of the citizens at large. However, these steps need to be extended further.”
The Court while giving some suggestions to the State Government said, “This Court also takes into account the fact that the Chief Minister of the State has reported in the local press yesterday and even today that he has directed the concerned officers to calculate. Damage has been caused and compensation as deemed appropriate is given to them to look into immediately.We direct the State to take immediate action in this regard so that the livelihood of those who have lost their source of income can be restored at the earliest. In this regard, we would like to commend the media at large, especially the print media, who have played a very active positive role in trying to restore peace and order within the state. shall remain alert at all times and continue to discharge his duty in a responsible manner which he has already displayed.However, it has been brought to our notice by the Advocate General that social media especially lar certain articles or visual footage who are either converted and/or are carrying Unrelated to Jya, whose sole purpose is to rekindle the passion of the people.”
Earlier, Advocate General Siddharth Shankar Dey informed the court about the steps taken to reduce the tension. Till now, two cases were registered for circulating fake news and in total five cases were registered in several police stations of the state.
Dey informed, “The state police has taken several steps to maintain peace including deployment of additional security personnel, guarding of religious places, peace gatherings, additional vehicle mobiles etc. All necessary arrangements are made by the state government to maintain peace in the state. Its being done.” Court. (ANI)
First published:October 30, 2021, 9:03 am
