‘Are you affected personally’: HC to lawyer who wants Kangana’s Twitter handle suspended

Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, a Mumbai-based lawyer, in his criminal writ petition said that Twitter should be directed to permanently suspend or disable Ranaut’s profile to stop the spread of hate in the country. He added that the social media platform should be directed to follow laws to prevent any misuse.

The Bombay High Court on Thursday said that it would decide on whether to consider a plea which sought the suspension of actor Kangana Ranaut’s Twitter profile as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL), according to a report filed by Livelaw .com.

The bench directed Deshmukh to ponder whether the issue should be raised through a PIL or the criminal writ petition should continue and adjourned the matter till Monday. (HT file photo)

Ali Kaashif Khan Deshmukh, a Mumbai-based lawyer, in his criminal writ petition said that Twitter should be directed to permanently suspend or disable Ranaut’s profile to stop the spread of hate in the country. He added that the social media platform should be directed to follow laws to prevent any misuse.

The lawyer also accused Kangana of using the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput for her own gains. She did the same thing with the ongoing agitation of farmers, he said citing a few controversial tweets put out by Ranaut and her sister Rangoli Chandel which allegedly incited hatred against communities.

Arguing before a division bench of Justices S S Shinde and M S Karnik on Thursday, Deshmukh pointed out that he had written to the police and the state authorities in the past seeking action against Ranaut and her sister. But the judges wanted to know whether the plea was a PIL to which Deshmukh responded it was not.

“Then how can we act in a criminal case on the basis of claims made by a third party, who is in no way affected personally? Is this a PIL? If not, then you will have to show personal injury to you, how it is affecting you,” the bench told Deshmukh, according to news agency PTI.

The bench directed Deshmukh to ponder whether the issue should be raised through a PIL or the criminal writ petition should continue and adjourned the matter till Monday.

Meanwhile, government lawyer Y P Yagnik highlighted that the plea did not state how the tweets flagged by Deshmukh affected the public at large. “This is a very vague petition. Twitter is an international body. One can not seek vague reliefs like these, Yagnik added.

(With agency inputs)