Can online posts be taken down without hearing account owner? Supreme Court asks Centre

The Supreme Court on Monday sought the response of the Central government to a plea flagging the issue of take down of posts made on social media without issuing notice or hearing the account owner who put the post..A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih said it is prima of the opinion that if there is an identifiable person behind the post, then he should be heard before taking down the concerned post."Prima facie, we both feel that if there is an identifiable person then notice should be issued," the Bench remarked.Hence, the Court issued notice to the Central government on the plea filed by Software Freedom Law Centre (petitioner) which said that intermediaries like X (formerly Twitter) often take down tweets on directions by the government without informing the account owner..Prima facie, we both feel that if there is an identifiable person then notice should be issued.Supreme Court.Senior Counsel Indira Jaising, appearing for the petitioner, said that while the government has the power to take down information, notice should be given to the person who put out that tweet.Not doing so is a violation of principles of natural justice, she contended.She also pointed out that the law as it stands today mandates that notice should be issued to the person or the intermediary."Because of this only the intermediary is served with the notice. This is happening because of the word 'or'. Then rule further says such a notice is confidential and it is a nail in the coffin. I am not disputing the power to take it down but the person who put it out must be heard. The challenge is under Article 19(1)(a)," she said."If a person is identifiable, then he has to be given notice and if not then the intermediary. It can be read in that manner also," the Bench remarked."If it is read in this manner, then State will be under mandate to issue notice to identifiable person," Jaising said in agreement..She also highlighted how the Twitter account of Supreme Court Senior Advocate Sanjay Hegde was suspended for years without giving him any hearing."Yes, a senior lawyer of this court, Mr Sanjay Hegde's X account was taken down. No notice and for years it was not not made online. I am not giving personal examples.. but this is in public domain," Jaising pointed out.The Supreme Court then proceeded to seek the response of the government to the plea..[Read Live Coverage]