Overview
- The bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant, with Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M. Pancholi, heard a plea challenging state police for posting images and details of accused persons on official social media accounts.
- The Court asked the petitioner to wait for states to implement guidelines stemming from a January order in a PUCL case, granting liberty to file a fresh, comprehensive petition with compliance data.
- Chief Justice Surya Kant agreed with Solicitor General Tushar Mehta that some virtual platforms operate as blackmailers, describing such conduct as a form of “digital arrest.”
- Justice Bagchi highlighted the threat to fair trials from “atomised” social media, noting that mainstream outlets are comparatively more restrained due to existing oversight.
- The petition cited humiliating depictions by police handles in Haryana, Gujarat, Maharashtra, Assam and Chhattisgarh, as the CJI separately decried a phone-driven culture where bystanders film accidents instead of helping victims.