Social media users should be careful about its impact, reach: Supreme Court
Supreme Court has dismissed a petition filed by actor and former Tamil Nadu MLA S Ve Shekher, who is facing charges for sharing a Facebook post in 2018 reportedly containing derogatory remarks about women journalists.
A bench of Justices B R Gavai and P K Mishra was hearing Shekher's appeal against the Madras High Court's July 14 ruling dismissing his petition seeking quashing of criminal proceedings connected to the post he shared.
"If one uses social media, then he should be more careful about its impact and reach," the bench had said.
The lawyer contended that Shekher had put some medicine in his eyes on the day of the incident, causing him to be unable to read the contents of the post he published.
The bench highlighted that one must exercise caution when using social media.
It stated that if someone feels the need to use social media, he should be prepared to face the consequences.
The HC observed in its ruling that Shekher "published/circulated an abusive, derogatory and vulgar comment in his Facebook account" on April 19, 2018, after which a complaint filed before the Chennai Commissioner of Police.
It had been noticed that a FIR had been registered in the matter, and that additional private complaints had been submitted against him in various districts of Tamil Nadu.
Shekher's counsel contended before the high court that he was unaware of the nature of the message that was sent to him and had only forwarded it from his Facebook account.
According to his counsel, after learning of the derogatory remarks in the message, Shekher removed the contents within a couple of hours on the same day and followed it up with a letter dated April 20, 2018, in which he offered an unconditional apology to the concerned women journalists as well as the media.
The high court noted in its ruling that the petitioner was asked to write an affidavit tendering an apology in the pendency of the proceedings, which he did.
"A careful reading of the contents of the message that was forwarded from the Facebook account of the petitioner on April 19, 2018, showcases women journalists in a poor light. This court is very hesitant to even translate the message that was forwarded by the petitioner since, to say the least, it is despicable. The contents are highly derogatory against the press as a whole in Tamil Nadu," high court had stated.
"We live in an era where social media has virtually taken over the lives of every individual in the world. A message sent/forwarded in social media can reach the nook and corner of the world in no time," it added.
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- With inputs from agencies
