Bombay HC to hear petition against hate speech on social media

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar: The Aurangabad bench of the Bombay High Court will hear a petition on Monday seeking action against hate speech and its supporters on social media platforms.

Social activists Jalinder Mahadev Shendge and Sandeep Sharad Kulkarni, represented by Advocate Nitin Chaudhary, filed the petition. It argues that the government lacks control over social media and urges the state to issue directives curbing hate speech and its supporters.

The petition specifically mentions posts targeting the Brahmin community and threatening deputy chief minister Devendra Fadnavis, alleging these have caused unrest among other communities. It calls for the immediate arrest and strict action against Yogesh Sawant, identified as the individual behind the threatening statements.

The petition names the state government, its principal secretary (Home), Director general of police, and commissioner of police of Pune and Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar as defendants. It emphasizes the constitutional guarantee of equal rights and asserts that legitimate means exist for presenting demands, while condemning the use of abusive language and insults against specific communities as a violation of Article 21 of the Constitution.