New Delhi, Dec 9 (UNI) The Supreme Court today disposed of a petition filed by X Corp’s India arm (formerly Twitter India) seeking the clubbing or quashing of multiple FIRs registered across several states in 2020 over the alleged “promotion” of a tweet referring to “Khalistan”.
A bench comprising Justice MM Sundresh and Justice Satish Chandra Sharma said it was not inclined to keep the matter pending any longer, especially in view of the five-year passage of time and the absence of representation from several states.
“Though the counsel appearing for some states have represented and given the current factual scenario, there is no representation for Haryana, Karnataka and Odisha. We are not inclined to keep this matter after five years. Suffice it to say that much water has flowed under the bridge. We are inclined to close this petition,” the bench observed.
Twitter India had approached the Supreme Court in 2020 after FIRs were lodged in eight states over an alleged “promotion” of a tweet by Gurpatwant Singh Pannun.
The company argued that it had no control over user-generated content and contended that multiple FIRs for a single incident violated settled legal principles, thereby seeking their consolidation.
The court had earlier issued notices to the Centre and the states, directing them to file affidavits detailing the status of the FIRs and complaints.
On Monday, the bench took note of the updates provided, Assam: Two FIRs registered; final reports submitted to the trial court. One additional complaint did not result in an FIR;
Arunachal Pradesh: FIR transferred to Assam; Andhra Pradesh: A complaint was received but no FIR registered as no offence was made out.
Delhi: FIR disposed of after finding no cognisable offence; Maharashtra: Complaints filed but no FIR registered; Odisha, Karnataka, Haryana; No appearance to inform the court about the present status.
Taking note of the incomplete state representations and the elapsed time, the Supreme Court closed the petition, bringing an end to the long-pending matter.
