Karnataka High Court Adjourns Hearing in Twitter Case

Karnataka High Court Adjourns Hearing in Twitter Case

The Karnataka High Court heard the petition filed by US microblogging platform Twitter challenging the blocking orders passed by the Government of India. The matter has been adjourned to March 16.

The hearing was before the single-judge Justice Krishna S Dixit. Additional Solicitor General (ASG) R Sankaranarayanan appearing for the government gave details of account users who were blocked for posting objectionable content.

The ASG also read out the Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India (2015) case where the Supreme Court had struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, relating to restrictions on online speech, as unconstitutional on grounds of violating the freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.

Earlier, the Supreme Court in Shreya Singhal case had observed that online intermediaries would only be obligated to take down content on receiving an order from a court or government authority.

Previously, in February, the Central government had opposed the petition filed by Twitter challenging the blocking orders passed by the Government of India. The ASG had questioned the maintainability of the petition filed by the foreign company saying Twitter cannot espouse freedom of speech of its users in the absence of an enabling statute.

The ASG before the High Court narrated the blocking orders of certain accounts that were sent to Twitter.

Further, the ASG discussed the statement of objections filed by the central government. During the course of the hearing the ASG presented comparative details of the law in the UK and in India with regard to powers and responsibilities of intermediaries, and asserted that he will give more details of the comparative analysis.

The next hearing on the matter will be on March 16.