New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Wednesday stayed the summons issued by Peace and Harmony Committee of Delhi Assembly against Facebook India Vice President Ajit Mohan.
The Supreme Court directed the Delhi legislative assembly committee not to take any punitive action till October 15 in connection with the summons issued to Facebook India vice-chairman and managing director Ajit Mohan to testify about the North East Delhi riots. The assembly committee is investigating the role of this social media platform in the case of alleged hate speech.
A bench of Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul, Justice Anirudh Bose and Justice Krishna Murari issued notices to the Legislative Assembly Secretary, Ministry of Law and Justice, Ministry of Home Affairs, Electronics and Information Technology, Lok Sabha and Rajya Sabha through their general secretaries and to Delhi Police. The bench has sought answers from all of them.
The plea filed by Mohan has challenged the notice issued on September 10 and 18 by the Peace and Harmony Committee of the Assembly. He has been directed to appear before the Sadbhavana Committee probing the propagation of hate speeches during the February riots.
On 12 September, the committee decided to call Facebook India vice-chairman and managing director Ajit Mohan. The committee, headed by Raghav Chadha, after examining the evidence and record material submitted by the witnesses, took this decision to ascertain the veracity of the allegations leveled on Facebook.