Citizens must act responsibly, use social media with restraint, says Ayodhya DM ahead of SC verdict

Ayodhya District Magistrate Anuj Kumar Jha on Monday appealed to the public to exercise necessary caution and not like, share or forward social media posts which may hurt the sentiments of any community.

In an order dated October 31, the Ayodhya district administration had issued a slew of directives ahead of the apex court judgment in the Ram Janmabhoomi-Babri Masjid title suit.

Speaking to ANI, Anuj Kumar Jha said, "We just want to say that do not like share or forward any defamatory social media posts which might hurt sentiments of any community."

"The arrangements are being done with the view that many important festivals are going on and many devotees are here. So, considering their safety we have put necessary arrangments at the place," he added.

The order prohibits the public from posting misleading posts on social media which may insult or hurt the sentiment of a particular community.

Some other directives in the order included a ban on the use of loudspeaker and strict action on defamatory posts against religious figures on social media.

A five-judge Supreme Court bench heard the Ayodhya case on a day-to-day basis for 40 days and reserved its verdict on October 16.

The apex court is expected to deliver its verdict on a dispute over the ownership of 2.77 acres of land in Ayodhya district in Uttar Pradesh before November 17, when the Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi retires.