Madras High Court rules “Jail” for sharing derogatory posts on social media

May 23, 2018

The Madras High Court in its recent judgment has reiterated the law on social media etiquettes, that a person can be made liable for content by merely forwarding or posting it on social media platforms. The incident involved a journalist-turned-party leader for posting derogatory remarks on female journalists in a Facebook post. The petitioners have been granted protection in the current course of events, till the matter is taken up on 1^st June. The Madras Court while rejecting the plea of anticipatory bail of the journalist has enunciated that “ Forwarding a message or re-posting on social media is equivalent to accepting it's contents and endorsing it” . The essence of the judgment lies in the court reinstating the well settled law on sharing of any form of derogatory or defamatory content. The current law is covered in the aegis of The Information Technology Act, 2000. A similar case took place in 2013 in Pune where the Police made arrests of persons for forwarding derogatory jokes, videos or morphed images of celebrities or politicians from their cell-phone. The judgment acts as a warning as it has become easy to disseminate content in e-form. The issue elevates, once such a share or post is done by an eminent personality or a public figure. The judgment comes in the light of promulgating peace, harmony and not incite hatred in the society.