LI Network
Published on: December 25, 2023 at 00:45 IST
The Kerala High Court has extended a one-week deadline to Meta-India, urging them to grant access to former sub-Judge S. Sudeep for the purpose of deleting an offensive post against the Executive Editor of Asianet News Network Pvt Ltd.
The controversy arose when the judge posted a Metapost on July 4, 2023, directed at the petitioner, containing content that qualified as offenses under crimes against women and children, particularly involving indecent representation of women.
Following the filing of an FIR, the petitioner formally requested the removal of the offending post, arguing that it infringed upon their rights. The Court, acknowledging the merit in the writ petition, issued an interim order to address the petitioner’s concerns.
As a result, the judge was instructed to delete the post from all social media platforms, including Facebook, YouTube, Instagram, and other online social network services.
During the proceedings, the judge expressed an inability to remove the post, citing a lack of access. In response, Meta’s counsel proposed a one-week extension to facilitate access for the judge to take down the offensive content.
The bench acknowledged this submission in its order, granting Meta the requested time.
Additionally, Meta was directed to inform the judge’s counsel, who, in turn, would notify the respondent to remove the specified post once access was granted by Meta.
The Court clarified that the removal of the post, as directed by the court, would not prejudice any of the judge’s contentions in the ongoing criminal prosecution.
The bench has scheduled the matter for further hearing on January 5, 2023.
Case Title: Sindhu Suryakumar v. State Of Kerala
