The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday instructed the social media platforms to remove all information identifying the victim of the rape and murder incident in RG Kar Medical College and Hospital in Kolkata. The order was issued in compliance with a recent Supreme Court order dated August 20, 2024, in the matter titled Kinnori Ghosh @ Anr. versus Union of India & Ors.
The ministry has asked the social media platforms to remove the name, photographs and videos of the postgraduate trainee doctor who was raped and murdered at the RG Kar Medical College and Hospital, according to the apex court’s order.
The Supreme Court of India vide an injunctive order directed that all references to the name of the deceased, along with any photographs and video clips depicting the deceased, be promptly removed from all social media platforms and electronic media.
A Bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud and Justices Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra passed the order on 20 August after two lawyers moved the Court against disclosure of the name and identity of the deceased victim. The petitioners pointed out that the photo of the body of the deceased was circulating on social media and the same was violative of the Nipun Saxena judgment of the Supreme Court.
The operative paragraph of the Court’s order reads as follows:
“This Court is constrained to issue an injunctive order since the social and electronic media have proceeded to publish the identity of the deceased and photographs of the dead body after the recovery of the body.
We accordingly direct that all references to the name of the deceased in the above incident, photographs and video clips shall forthwith be removed from all social media platforms and electronic media in compliance with this order.“
In light of this order, Electronics and Information Technology ministry emphasized the importance of adhering to the Court’s directive to safeguard the privacy and dignity of individuals involved, and therefore asked the social media platforms to take immediate action to ensure compliance with this order.
“The Ministry of Electronics and IT urges all social media companies to ensure that such sensitive information is not further disseminated. Failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s order may result in legal consequences and further regulatory action,” a statement issued by the ministry said.
All the social media platforms are also directed to inform the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology at [email protected] about the action taken in response to the compliance of Supreme Court order.
