‘Citizens should know the value of free speech and expression’: SC flags divisive material on social media; Urines self-regulation, not over-sensorship. Bharat News

New Delhi: The Supreme Court said on Monday that citizens should recognize the value of speech and freedom of expression and to be called to practice self-regulation as it consider guidelines to regulate aggressive positions on social media. A bench of Justice Biwi Nagarthana and KV Vishwanathan was hearing the case of Vazahat Khan, which faces several FIRs in states including West Bengal on controversial positions on X, which targeted a Hindu deity. The court earlier on 23 June when the Khan interim protection was extended on 23 June, which has now been extended till 14 July. Khan had also filed a complaint against social media affected Sharmisha Panoli, alleging that she made communal remarks in a video. His lawyer told the court that the aggressive posts should not be replied with similar objectionable materials. “Citizens should know the value of the fundamental right to speech and freedom of expression,” Justice Nagrathana quoted the news agency PTI. He further said, “All this divisive trend is to be curbed on social media.” Explaining the court’s stance, the bench stated that its approach was not about censorship. “There should be a fraternity among the citizens,” said, while considering the need to frame guidelines on free speech and expression for citizens. The court also pointed to the appropriate sanctions placed under Article 19 (2) of the Constitution, stating that they were “kept correctly”. The bench extended Khan’s interim security from arrest until the next hearing and asked the lawyer to help the citizens to address a broader issue of self-regulations in the use of free speech. Khan was arrested by Kolkata Police on 9 June. He told the apex court that FIRs were lodged against him in several states including Assam, West Bengal, Maharashtra and Haryana for old tweets. He claimed that the FIR was in vengeance for his complaint against Panoli, who was arrested and later released on bail. “I have removed all of them and apologized,” his lawyer presented, saying that Khan probably “was biting what he had sown.”