New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Monday declined to entertain a petition filed by Traffic K.R. Ramaswamy for a direction to the Tamil Nadu government to release all those arrested for spreading information in the social media on the health condition of the Chief Minister Jayalalithaa, admitted in Apollo hospital.
A Bench of Justices Dipak Misra and Amitav Roy dismissed the application from. Ramaswamy which also sought a direction to restrain Tamil Nadu police from arresting the petitioner and others who spread news about Jayalalithaa’s health condition in the social media. Counsel G.S. Mani submitted that in the petition filed by DMDK leader actor Vijayakanth the court had observed that statements made with references to the CM’s health condition will not come under the ambit of defamation and the same rule will apply to this case also. He said arresting persons merely because they pass on information on social media is in violation of the freedom of speech guaranteed under the Constitution.
Senior counsel Rakesh Diwedi, for TN however, submitted that the statements of Ramaswamy had nothing to do with defamation as they came under the ambit of spreading rumour through false information. He sought dismissal of the application. Accepting the submission the bench dismissed the application with liberty to file appropriate petition challenging the arrest for spreading false information.
