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‘Facing allegations’: SC after attacks from BJP's Nishikant Dubey, V-P Jagdeep Dhankhar
The court's concerns about facing allegations come after it ruled against Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi in a case brought against him by the DMK government
The Supreme Court on Monday expressed apprehensions that it is facing allegations of “encroaching” into legislative and executive domains while hearing a petition which sought steps to prevent over-the-top (OTT) platforms from streaming explicit content.
A Bench of Justices BR Gavai and AG Masih said that the court may have limited jurisdiction in the matter.
Also read | Supreme Court notice to Centre on plea to ban sexually explicit content on OTT, social media
“This is either for the legislature or the executive. As it is, we are facing allegations of encroaching into legislative (and) executive domains. Anyways, we will issue notice,” Justice Gavai said.
Justice Gavai is set to be sworn in as the next chief justice of India after the tenure of current top judge Sanjiv Khanna ends on May 13.
Judiciary vs Centre
The court's concerns about facing allegations come after it ruled against Tamil Nadu governor RN Ravi in a case brought against him by the DMK government in the state. The top court exercised its power under Article 142 against RN Ravi for his inordinate delay in granting assent to 10 bills passed by the state legislative assembly.
In its judgement, the apex court heavily criticised the governor for his “unconstitutional” actions and held that all state bills were deemed to have granted assent. The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu notified all 10 bills as laws under the government gazette. The case marked a historic development in India's federal history, in which state bills became laws without the governor's assent.
Also read | Supreme Court to hear plea against BJP MP Nishikant Dubey’s remarks on judiciary next week
The development seemed to have set off a face-off between the top court and the executive, with Vice-President Jagdeep Dhankhar slamming the use of Article 142 as a “nuclear missile”. The Rajya Sabha chairman also criticised the court for acting as a “super parliament.”
Opposition leaders launched sharp criticism in response to Dhankhar. Several parties, including the Congress, Trinamool Congress (TMC), the DMK, and prominent legal voices, accused the Vice President of undermining the judiciary and “bordering on contempt.”
Plea on OTTs
The petitioners sought guidelines to constitute a National Content Control Authority to prohibit streaming sexually explicit content on OTT and social media platforms.
The bench told Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, that the government should act on the issue raised in the plea. Mehta submitted to the court that some regulations existed in this regard, while others were in contemplation.
The plea was posted for further hearing after the court directed the issuance of notices to the Centre, OTT platforms, and social media companies, including X Corp, Netflix, Amazon, Ullu Digital, ALTBalaji, MUBI, Google, Apple, and Meta.
