Kolkata doctor rape-murder: The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) on Wednesday directed social media platforms in India to remove all references to the RG Kar rape and murder victim, including names, photographs, and video clips.
This comes after a Supreme Court directed that all references to the name of the deceased, along with any photographs and video clips depicting the deceased, be promptly removed from all social media platforms and electronic media.
MeitY warns social media platforms of action
"In light of this order, the ministry has emphasised 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 the court's order," the ministry said in a statement.
It warned the platforms against sharing any information about the individuals involved in the future, noting that failure to comply could lead to legal repercussions and regulatory measures. "The Ministry of Electronics and IT urges all social media companies to ensure that such sensitive information is not further disseminated. Failure to comply with the Supreme Court’s order may result in legal consequences and further regulatory action. All the social media platforms shall also inform the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology at cyberlaw-legal@meity.gov.in about the action taken in response to the compliance of Supreme Court order," it added.
What did the Supreme Court say?
The Supreme Court, on Tuesday, issued a stern directive to all social media platforms and electronic media, mandating the immediate removal of any content revealing the identity of the deceased in the RG Kar Hospital case. This includes the name, photographs, and video clips related to the victim. The order was delivered by a bench headed by Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud, with Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra also presiding. The bench took serious note of the fact that the identity of the victim had been widely published across various media platforms, which led the court to take this action.
The Supreme Court emphasised that it felt compelled to issue this injunctive order due to the irresponsible dissemination of the deceased's identity and images by social and electronic media. The court's decision comes in response to the widespread circulation of photographs of the victim's body following its recovery, which the court deemed a violation of privacy and dignity.
"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," the top court said. The top court was hearing a petition, which raised the issue that photographs of the body of the deceased, including video clips, have been circulating on social media and electronic platforms.
Kolkata doctor rape-murder case
It is pertinent to mention that a postgraduate trainee doctor was allegedly raped and murdered while on duty at the hospital on August 9. Later, the semi-naked body of the 32-year-old woman was found in the seminar hall of the government-run hospital in Kolkata. A civic volunteer was arrested by the Kolkata Police the following day for his alleged involvement in the rape-murder incident. The case is currently being investigated by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).
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