New Delhi, March 11 The Supreme Court on Wednesday strongly objected to the social media reactions of some "malicious individuals" regarding its February 26 order in the NCERT textbook controversy, and said they must understand how to deal with the current Chief Justice of India.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India (CJI) Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi directed the Centre to identify and provide full details of such websites so that appropriate action could be taken against them.
The bench said that after the Supreme Court's February 26 order, some anti-social elements on "so-called social media" have acted and reacted "irresponsibly".
"We firmly believe in taking decisive action. Accordingly, we direct the Government of India to identify such sites, the individuals behind running those sites, and provide their full details to enable us to take appropriate action," the bench said.
The bench stated that the law must take its own course against the malicious individuals.
The bench was hearing a suo moto case concerning NCERT's Class 8 social science textbook, which contained "offensive" content on corruption in the judiciary.
On February 26, the Supreme Court imposed a "complete ban" on any further publication, reprint, or digital dissemination of NCERT's Class 8 social science textbook, as it contains "offensive" content on corruption in the judiciary, saying that this had caused "irreparable damage" to the judiciary.
During the hearing, the CJI highlighted the manner in which some "anti-social elements" have reacted to the Supreme Court's order in the matter.
"I am not going to tolerate these elements," the CJI said, adding, "They must also understand how to deal with the current Chief Justice of India".
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that social media was the most abused medium of communication.
"We used to study Newton's law: 'for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction'. In the era of social media, the law is now: 'for every action, there is a disproportionate and idiotic social media reaction'," the top law officer said.
"All you need is one smartphone, free Wi-Fi, and plenty of free time," he said.
The CJI said that its concern was only about the spread of misinformation.
One of the advocates told the bench, "The difficulty is that today, wisdom has been sacrificed for gossip. That is all that is being transmitted on social media. And they don't stop short of pointing fingers at anybody. Nothing is sacred".
The CJI observed, "Even if they are hiding outside this country, I will not spare them. I am sitting here".
The bench made it clear that its orders passed in the matter were not intended to prevent any healthy, objective, and legitimate criticism of the functioning of the judiciary.
"If the judiciary, like any other institution, is suffering from some deficiencies and if an expert committee highlights such deficiencies, it will be a welcome step not only for the future generation of this nation, including the future judges and practitioners, but it will also open an avenue for the present stakeholders to take necessary corrective steps," the bench said.