Supreme Court normally does not react to criticism unless lines are crossed,” Mr Venugopal said. (File)
Discussions on social media or freedom of speech cannot be curbed and any move to do so may invite litigation, the government’s top law officer has said. The Supreme Court only initiates contempt cases in the rarest of rare cases, Attorney General KK Venugopal told NDTV.
“For a healthy democracy, open discussions on social media should not be curbed. The Supreme Court normally does not react to criticism unless lines are crossed,” Mr Venugopal said amid instances of the top court’s decisions being questioned or criticised on Twitter.
“To curtail this would be unnecessary and the government should not bring any move to curtail this freedom. We need open democracy and open discussions,” he added.
If something was pointed out, the Supreme Court would “be happy” to deal with it, said the Attorney General.
“The Supreme Court would not go out of its way unless contempt is committed. The Supreme Court initiates contempt only in rarest of rare cases,” he said.
