We will appear before IT Ministry: Facebook to SC
Jan 21, 2021
New Delhi [India], January 22 : Facebook India's Vice President and Managing Director, Ajit Mohan told the Supreme Court on Thursday that when the Information Technology (IT) ministry calls representatives of the company they will appear and record their statements.
He said this at a hearing in the top court in connection with the summon issued by the Delhi Government's Peace and Harmony Committee, with regard to north-east Delhi riots.
"When the IT ministry calls us, we will go. We have appeared before the Parliamentary committee too," former Solicitor General and senior Supreme Court lawyer, Harish Salve, appearing for the petitioner, Ajit Mohan told the Apex Court's three-judge bench, headed by Justice Sanjay Kishan Kaul and also comprising Justices Aniruddha Bose and Krishna Murari.
Salve said that you (Peace and Harmony Committee of the Delhi Government) can only summon those who are a party. "If at all one is summoned, is it limited to questions of evidence or fact? I may have strong opinions which I may not want to express," he added.
Salve further said that this is not a summon by the Parliament.
The bench fixed the matter for further hearing to January 27, Wednesday.
The petitioners, including Ajit Mohan, had moved the apex court challenging the two summons issued by the respondent, Legislative Assembly, NCT of Delhi and others, against them -- on September 10 and 18 -- on the grounds that they violated the fundamental rights of the petitioner under Article 19(1)(a) and Article 21, guaranteed under part III of Constitution of India.
The petitioners had approached the top court to quash these two summons issued by the Legislative Assembly, NCT of Delhi and others, against them.
The Peace and Harmony Committee of the Delhi government had served a fresh notice for appearance to Facebook India Vice President and Managing Director, Ajit Mohan for his presence before the Committee on September 23 in connection with the alleged "intentional omission and deliberate inaction on the part of social media platform" with respect to hate speeches.
