Citizens should understand value of freedom of expression: Supreme Court flags divisive social media content

NEW DELHI: The Supreme Court has observed in a case related to hate speech on social media that citizens need to understand the value of freedom of expression. "Some citizens misuse freedom of expression. Citizens should exercise self-control on social media. If they are not ready to do so, the state governments should intervene," a bench of Justices B.V. Nagarathna and K.V. Viswanathan said. "If there is a sense of fraternity among citizens, the spread of hatred will be reduced. Social media trends that divide society should be stopped. Misuse of freedom of expression will increase litigation and hamper the criminal justice system of the country. The police are there not just to look into such cases. They have to investigate other criminal cases," the court observed.

Wazahat Khan case

Wasahat Khan, a native of Kolkata, had posted tweets against a social media post made by influencer Sharmistha Panoli regarding Operation Sindoor. Sharmistha was accused of making remarks against the minority community. Sharmistha was later arrested and released on bail. After the incident became controversial, cases were filed against Wasahat Khan in various states for hate speech. The Supreme Court was considering a petition filed seeking to combine these cases. The court extended the protection from arrest with the criticism. Meanwhile, the lawyer said that Wasahat Khan had apologized in the tweets. “There is no excuse for my conduct. I have no business making the same mistake I had accused others of. These tweets were old and in reaction to certain things. I have already apologised,” Wasahat Khan submitted.