The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed all social media platforms operating in India to comply with the Order of the Supreme Court of India on the circulation of the name and photographs of the Postgraduate doctor who was raped and murdered on 9th August 2024 at R.G. Kar Medical College and Hospital.

On 20th August, the Supreme Court of India vide an injunctive order has 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. This directive follows concerns regarding the dissemination of sensitive material related to the incident in question.

The operative paragraph of the Court’s order reads as follows:

“This Court is constrained to issue an injunctive order since the 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.

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.”

MeitY has emphasized the importance of adhering to the Court’s directive to safeguard the privacy and dignity of individuals involved and therefore asked social media platforms to take immediate action to ensure compliance with this order.

Further, the Ministry has urged 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, it added,