CHENNAI: Arrest is not the answer to end rumour-mongering, NHRC chairman and former Chief Justice of India Justice H.L. Dattu said on Friday while disapproving the arrest of eight persons by Tamil Nadu police for spreading rumours against the health of Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa. At a press conference in New Delhi, the NHRC chairman said there is other mechanism to restrict spread of false information and rumour mongering.
“So far as Jayalalithaa case is concerned, yes even if it is under section 500 or 505 of IPC, arrest may not be the answer. People have freedom to express. The Supreme Court has accepted that freedom of expression is a right of the citizen and the SC has recently upheld this in a judgment," Justice Dattu said. The NHRC chief was responding to a question whether the Tamil Nadu Police breached its limit by arresting rumour mongers on charges of spreading rumours about the health of Ms Jayalalithaa.
Justice Dattu's comments assume significance in the wake of an outrage in Tamil Nadu against the arrest of 8 persons and filing of cases against more than 55 people in connection with spreading rumour against the Chief Minister's health. Opposition parties, including the DMK, have termed the police action “regressive”.
