- NET Web Desk
The Supreme Court on Monday passed an order restraining the Tripura police from taking any coercive action against activist-journalist Samiullah Shabbir Khan’s tweets about communal violence that occurred in northeastern state last year.
A Division Bench of Justices – DY Chandrachud and AS Bopanna restrained the police from taking further action against the journalist and issued notice to the police on the plea. It also asked Twitter to remove the concerned Tweet and sought details of IP address and phone number for the purpose of investigation.
According to Bar and Bench report, the Court was hearing a petition filed by the Association for Protection of Civil Rights against the invocation of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against more than 100 people who took to social media to comment on the violence in Tripura, which was triggered by the vandalization of mosques and shops belonging to the Muslim community.
The Tripura Police had sent a notice under Section 91 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) to Twitter, regarding Khan’s tweets about the violence. Its worthy to note that on November last year, the state police had booked the petitioners including – journalists Shyam Meera Singh and certain other activists and lawyers for offences punishable under the UAPA.
