Kolkata: In a significant development, the Calcutta High Court has set aside a lower court’s order which had asked a nodal agency of the central government to instruct Facebook to block news links published by a Darjeeling-based newspaper, Darjeeling Chronicles.
Earlier, on June 18, 2017, the Chief Metropolitan Magistrate's Court in the city had ordered to block 11 links of Darjeeling Chronicles which were alleged to be ‘objectionable’ in nature and could instigate violence.
The Lower Court had issued the order following a plea by Kolkata Police Cyber Crime department. The department had then maintained that the articles links published on Facebook by the Darjeeling Chronicles, during Gorkhaland agitation last year, were ‘against the interest of the nation’ and were instigating in nature.
Challenging the lower court order Facebook counsels Siddharth Luthra and Souvik Mitter moved the Calcutta High Court and questioned whether the lower court could issue such an order merely based on a general diary lodged by the police.
The counsels also told Justice Siddhartha Chatterjee that the state government was yet to appoint a nodal officer to deal with social media posts.
Defending state government’s move, Advocate General Kishore Dutta and public prosecutor Swasata Gopal Mukherjee argued that the complaint lodged by the Cyber Crime Department was needed since there was an attempt to instigate the people living in hills towards ‘war against the nation’.
While refuting the Facebook counsels’ claim, the Advocate General told the court that the state government had already appointed a nodal officer to look after social media issues.
After hearing both sides the High Court set aside the Lower Court’s order. The court asked the state government that if it wanted to block any Facebook posts in future then it would have to follow the basic rules which include approaching a state nodal officer who would then refer the matter to his central counterpart.
The court also clarified that ‘setting aside’ of the matter does not mean that doors were closed for the state government for seeking further legal redress.
The High Court order read: “The West Bengal government, after observing the legal formalities, may invoke the same, if the situation so warrants and still prevails. After all 'law and order' is the urgent desideratum of the state.”
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