Supreme Court Seeks Government Reply On Gujarat AAP Social Media Restrictions
Supreme Court seeks response over blocked Gujarat AAP accounts.
The Supreme Court of India on Friday issued notices to the Centre and the Gujarat government on a petition filed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) challenging the suspension of the social media accounts of its Gujarat unit ahead of local body elections.The petition concerns the blocking of the Gujarat AAP unit’s Instagram and Facebook accounts on April 25, a day before polling for local civic elections in the state. The party has alleged that the suspension affected its ability to communicate with voters during a critical phase of the election campaign.
A bench comprising Justices PS Narasimha and Alok Aradhe sought responses from both governments and directed that the matter be tagged with a related case pending before a bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant.The plea, filed through advocate Siddhant Sharma, urged the court to call for official records explaining the reasons behind the suspension of the social media handles. It also sought judicial guidelines and procedural safeguards governing the blocking or suspension of official social media accounts belonging to registered political parties.
According to the petition, such safeguards are necessary to protect the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution. The plea argued that restrictions on political communication must remain within the reasonable limitations permitted under Article 19(2).During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta reportedly urged the court not to formally issue notice at this stage and instead requested that a copy of the petition be supplied to him.
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However, the bench proceeded with issuing notices and linking the matter with the pending related case.Senior advocate Shadan Farasat, appearing for AAP, argued that the case raised an important constitutional issue regarding whether Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act could legally serve as the source of power for directing the suspension of social media accounts belonging to political parties.
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