New Delhi, August 18, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought responses from the Centre, states and social media intermediaries on a plea seeking safeguards against police officials uploading photographs and videos of accused persons on social media, arguing that such practices can affect their fundamental right to a fair trial.
A bench comprising Chief Justice Surya Kant and Justices Joymala Bagchi and V. Mohana took note of the petitioner’s contention that publicly revealing the identities of accused persons could prejudice their right to a fair trial. The bench also considered a suggestion for framing uniform guidelines governing the use of social media by police organisations.
At the same time, Chief Justice Surya Kant questioned whether merely stopping police from uploading such material could prevent its subsequent circulation across the wider digital ecosystem.
“This is not a border that you can just close down,” the CJI observed, while agreeing on the need to prevent police-generated content that reveals the faces or identities of accused persons from being uploaded.
Petitioner Hemendra Patel was represented by Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan, who showed the court photographs and videos in which accused persons were allegedly seen in handcuffs or being made to kneel.
Sankaranarayanan stressed the need for uniform national guidelines and an operational mechanism to prevent police organisations from disseminating material that could violate the rights of accused persons who have not yet been convicted.
He submitted that similar issues had been considered by some High Courts, but a nationwide framework was required to regulate the circulation of photographs and videos of accused persons by police authorities.
The petition has named the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and social media platforms as respondents. It has also sought a transparent and structured mechanism for the prompt removal of such content when objections are raised.
The petition referred to a January order of the Rajasthan High Court directing the removal of social media content concerning an arrested accused. Following that case, the Rajasthan Police issued a standard operating procedure restricting the uploading or sharing of photographs and videos of arrested persons on social media or with mediapersons.
FOLLOW NOW
