HC restrains 2 advocates from posting objectionable material

The Madras High Court has restrained two advocates from putting out any message or material "scandalizing the institution" and anyone who is part of it, including women lawyers, in any manner through postings on social media or applications on their mobile phones.
A division bench comprising justices V Ramasubramanian and K Ravichandrabaabu also passed restraining orders to Communicationsand Information Technology Ministry, Facebook and YouTube Google India Pvt Ltd against publication, distribution and circulation of such material.
A group of six women lawyers, including Sudha Ramalingam and Anna Mathew, have filed a writ petition, seeking a direction to evolve certain guidelines and protocol for protecting women engaged as part of the justice delivery system in various capacities from scandalous attacks through electronic means of communication.

The matter relates to Whatsapp messages and Facebook postings allegedly made by the two Advocates Peter Ramesh Kumar and Manikandan Vathan Chettiar.
The bench directed the managements of Facebook and YouTube at Hyderabad to take steps to block the objectionable material, particularly against women lawyers, which originated from mobile phones, 9344131170 and 9944114499, and being circulated through Whatsapp, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, etc.
It also directed the Superintendent of Police, Cyber Cell of the Commissioner of Police to render necessary assistance to Facebook and YouTube managements in this regard.

The petitioners have also prayed for an interim injunction to remove such material from social media portals or any Internet blog besides messages, written/audio/video communicated through SMS/MMS emanating from these mobile phones or any other mobile and all other methods of electronic communications or print and broadcast media.

The division bench, which passed the restraining order posted the matter for further hearing to February 26.
The Madurai branch of the Madras High Court Bar Association has already suspended its member Peter Ramesh Kumar for making allegedly defamatory statements against some judges and women lawyers through his postings on Facebook, YouTube and WhatsApp.
The Madras High Court bench had already initiated suo motu criminal contempt of court proceedings against Peter, former president of the Madurai unit of the High Court Advocates Association, for allegedly disrupting the court proceedings on September 16 last and challenging the court to act against him.