Tripura violence: HC orders state government to file affidavit on preventive measures

Express News Service

GUWAHATI: The Tripura High Court on Friday directed the state government to file affidavits, on or before November 10, on the preventive measures that it took or its plan of “scuttling the design of stoking communal passion or to perpetrate in the violence”.

The court issued the order after hearing a PIL filed suo-moto in connection with the October 26 violence during a rally organized by the Vishwa Hindu Parishad in Panisagar sub-division of North Tripura district against the vandalism of Durga Puja pandals and Hindu temples in Bangladesh.

A division bench, comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Subhashish Talapatra, directed the government to file an affidavit stating the stages at which the investigation was going on and if any accused was apprehended.

The court said various cases had been registered pursuant to the October 26 violence and incidents which took place before that. The Advocate General (AG) provided a brief note indicating some of the steps taken by the government to restore communal harmony as well as action taken against the perpetrator of the violence.

The AG said it was observed that many pictures and videos were circulated on social media and they did not pertain to the incident. “Prima facie, it was also seen that videos/pictures belonging to other incidents happened outside state/outside country have been morphed and was being shown as relating to the present incident. These videos and pictures have potential to disturb the communal harmony in the state,” the AG said.

To this, the court directed the government to initiate appropriate action against all such social media platforms in order to ensure that such false, fictitious and or fabricated news or footages do not come on to the social media platforms and even if they do so, they are removed at the earliest.

“This court calls upon the social media platforms to also act responsibly since today. Media has every right, as a part of their activities to publish the truth. It should not be allowed to be used to spread untruth and spread communal passion,” the division bench said.