SC Issues Notice to Centre on PIL Challenging IT Rules

The Supreme Court on Monday issued a notice to the Centre on a PIL challenging the blocking of social media accounts/posts without issuing notice to the account holder who uploaded the post.

- TDG NETWORK

A bench of Justices BR Gavai and Augustine George Masih sought the Centre's response within six weeks on the Software Freedom Law Centre's plea, which said that intermediaries like X (formerly Twitter) often take down tweets on government directions without informing the account owner.

Senior advocate 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 posted that tweet, and not doing so is a violation of the principles of natural justice.

The law as it stands today mandates that notice should be issued to the person or the intermediary, she added.