Meity asks social media platforms to comply with SC order in Kolkata case

The Supreme court had directed for removal of name and all media content of the deceased from the Internet

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The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) on Wednesday asked all social media companies to comply with a recent Supreme Court order in the Kolkata rape case and remove all personal information, including audio-visual media related to the deceased, from the internet.

The Ministry, in its directive, also said that failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s order may result in legal consequences and further regulatory action.

On Tuesday, in a matter titled “Kinnori Ghosh and Another versus Union of India and Others - Re: Circulation of Name and Photographs of Deceased in RG Kar Medical College Incident”, the Supreme Court ordered that all references to the name of the deceased in the Kolkata rape case, along with any photographs and video clips depicting the deceased, be promptly removed from all social media platforms and electronic media.

"This Court is constrained to issue an injunctive order since 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,” read the court order.

“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,” it further added.

The directive from the Supreme Court came after sensitive information about the deceased victim and the incident in the Kolkata RG Kar Hospital rape case was found to be disseminating online through popular social media platforms.

“In light of the court order, Meity hereby emphasizes the importance of adhering to the Court's directive to safeguard the privacy and dignity of individuals involved, and therefore social media platforms are required to take immediate action to ensure compliance with this order,” said the IT Ministry in an official statement.

The Ministry further urged all social media companies to ensure that such sensitive information is not further disseminated, and asked them to update Meity ’s cyber law division on the steps they have taken to comply with the Supreme Court order.

However, no timeline to comply with the order was mentioned in the official statement of the Ministry.