The Supreme Court has sought responses from the Union Government, State Governments, Union Territories, Meta Platforms Inc., and X Corp. in a plea seeking directions to restrain police authorities from disclosing the identities of accused persons or broadcasting content depicting them in a derogatory or dehumanising manner on social media platforms.

The Plea also sought directions to the Respondent-States to frame appropriate guidelines regulating the use of social media platforms by their respective police organisations, particularly to prevent the upload of any such content which reveals the faces/ identities of accused persons and/or depicts them in a dehumanizing manner.

The Bench of Chief Justice Surya Kant, Justice Joymalya Bagchi and Justice V Mohana took note of the submissions made by the Petitioner and issued notices to the Union government, states and social media platforms.

Senior Advocate Gopal Sankaranarayanan appeared for the Petitioner.

In March 2026, a similar plea was filed seeking directions against such posts uploaded by their respective police organisations on their social media handles, which reveal the faces/ identities of accused persons and/or depict them in a dehumanizing manner (e.g. being handcuffed, tied by ropes, beaten with sticks, kneeling on the floor, dragged or pulled down a flight of stairs etc.).

He said, "This time we have made the social media platforms as party...neither of their policies have covered this."

Chief Justice Kant added, "A regulatory regime has to be there."

Sankarnarayanan said, "Various High Courts have passed few directions, but we need something more."

The Plea, filed by AOR Shrutanjaya Bhardwaj, prayed, "Direct the Respondent-States to ensure that any posts uploaded by their respective police organisations on their social media handles, which reveal the faces/ identities of accused persons and/or depict them in a dehumanizing manner (e.g. being handcuffed, tied by ropes, beaten with sticks, kneeling on the floor, dragged or pulled down a flight of stairs etc.), are taken down and removed from the said social media handles forthwith, including the posts mentioned in this writ petition, and that no such posts are uploaded in the future..."

Further, it sought directions to the remaining Respondents to frame appropriate policies and user guidelines for its social media platforms i.e. Instagram and Facebook to ensure that no content is posted on their platforms which reveals the identities of persons accused of an offence and/or depicts accused persons being subjected to inhuman/ derogatory/ dehumanizing treatment (including but not limited to violence), and where such content has already been posted, to install a formal, transparent and structured mechanism for the prompt taking down of such content upon user reporting.

In the previous plea, the Court had expressed deep concern over the "vitiating atmosphere" created by unregulated social media and the evolving challenges of ensuring a fair trial in a digital age.

The Bench observed that while a formal police manual is a positive step to restrain "over-enthusiastic" statements by investigating agencies, the larger canvas of justice is increasingly clouded by third parties and "atomized" social media platforms.

Cause Title: Hemendra Patel v. Union of India and Ors. [Diary No. 32704/2026]

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