NEW DELHI, AUG 18 (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre, all states, Union Territories and social media platforms Meta and X on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking directions to prevent police organisations from posting content revealing the identities of accused persons or depicting them in a dehumanising manner.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana took note of submissions by senior advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, appearing for petitioner Hemendra Patel, and issued notices to the respondents.
The petition, filed through advocate-on-record Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, sought directions to states to remove from police social media handles posts revealing the faces or identities of accused persons or showing them in degrading circumstances.
It referred to images and videos of accused persons being handcuffed, tied with ropes, beaten with sticks, made to kneel, dragged or pulled down stairs.
The plea also sought directions to states to frame guidelines regulating police use of social media, particularly to prevent publication of such content in the future.
The PIL further sought directions to Meta Platforms Inc and X Corp to formulate appropriate policies and user guidelines for platforms including Facebook and Instagram to ensure that content revealing accused persons’ identities or depicting them being subjected to inhuman, derogatory or dehumanising treatment is not posted.
It also sought a formal, transparent and structured mechanism for prompt removal of such content upon user complaints.
The petition said the proposed guidelines should protect the dignity and identity of persons accused of offences while regulating police organisations’ social media activity. It said such safeguards were necessary to prevent public humiliation and protect due process.
The Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, Meta Platforms Inc and X Corp have been made respondents in the matter.
Wednesday, August 19, 2026