Karnataka HC questions Centre for not giving any reasons over blocking Twitter accounts
Bengaluru, Apr 10: The Karnataka High Court on Monday asked the central government why it had not given any reasons for blocking some accounts on Twitter in light of the takedown orders issued last year.
The bench of Justice Krishna S Dixit, which is hearing a petition by Twitter challenging the various takedown orders of the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), asked the government counsel, "Why you did not supply the reasons to them (Twitter). What is that you wish to withhold? Court wants to know what is so much an important thing which prevented the government from disclosing the reasons when the section (69A) uses the word 'reasons to be recorded'."
When asked by the HC bench if the response would be provided to the court, counsel Kumar M N replied that "whatever decision is made can be supplied to the court."
The court also observed that the world was moving towards transparency and Section 69A of the Information Technology Act requires recording of reasons for takedowns.
"The whole world is moving towards transparency. If it would have been regarding sovereignty etc., we would have understood. You called them for the meeting and you did not agree with the reasons given by them and passed the impugned order. Is it not necessary for him to know why you do not agree with his reasons?" the court said.
Twitter approached the HC in June 2022 against the orders issued by the ministry.
The Centre had argued that Twitter being a foreign entity cannot claim enforcement of fundamental rights. Objecting to this, Twitter informed the court that it was invoking the writ jurisdiction for violation of protocols prescribed under Section 69A of the IT Act. It also claimed in a rejoinder to the court that rights under Article 14 were available to foreign entities also.
The court then asked both Twitter and the Union government to clarify the issue of how Indian entities would be treated in the United States and foreign jurisdictions on such issues.
"In other jurisdictions whether disclosure of reason is treated as a matter of force or whether the government can withhold reasons? Whether any element of state sovereignty is involved in this? How would the USA have treated an Indian entity before it? That also needs to be addressed," the court asked, adjourning the hearing to April 12.
Twitter has claimed that the government was required to issue notice to the owners of the Twitter handles against whom blocking orders are issued. Twitter had said that it was barred from informing the account holders about the takedown orders of the government.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Sharad Pawar praised RSS after seeing how it burst fake narrative balloon of LS polls: Fadnavis
Nagpur, Jan 10: Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Friday said NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar praised the RSS after realising how the outfit managed to overcome the fake narrative spread by the opposition in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
The opposition had claimed BJP wanted to win 400 seats to change the Constitution and end reservations, a narrative which BJP leaders later claimed hit the party hard.
On Pawar praising the RSS recently, the CM said the MVA was successful in creating a fake narrative during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.
"When assembly polls were approaching, many people from diverse fields who are inspired by the RSS played their role and burst the balloon of this fake narrative. Sharad Pawar saheb is very intelligent. He would have certainly studied this aspect. He realised that this (RSS) is not a regular political power but a nationalist power. In any competition it is good to praise others," he added.
That is why Pawar may have praised the RSS, Fadnavis said.
Speaking at an interaction with senior editor Vivek Ghalsasi at Late Vilasji Fadnis Jivhala programme here, Fadnavis also said he had asked for organisational work when Eknath Shinde was made chief minister in June 2022, but senior leaders asked him to join the government.
He also said Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked him not to behave like an extra-constitutional authority in the government.
He said the decision to become deputy chief minister on the command of the party leadership earned him a lot of praise from the cadre.
After the massive mandate the ruling alliance received in the 2024 assembly polls, Fadnavis said people and party workers would not have been happy if the CM was not from the BJP.
Shinde himself agreed within minutes that the CM must be from the BJP, which itself got 132 seats and was close to a majority of its own in the 288-member assembly, he added.
On Shiv Sena (UBT) chief Uddhav Thackeray meeting him during the winter sessions of the legislature in Nagpur, Fadnavis said he had announced he would not indulge in politics of revenge after becoming CM and all leaders responded positively to it.
On chances of the NCP (SP) and NCP coming closer or reuniting, Fadnavis said, "If you see the developments that took place from 2019 to 2024, I realised never say never and anything can happen. Uddhav Thackeray goes to some other party and Ajit Pawar comes to us. In politics anything can happen though I am not saying this should happen."
He praised BJP leader Arun Gujarati from whom he learnt patience, which he claimed was an important quality in politics along with the ability to take criticism.
In a lighter vein, he said, "I only get angry when I am hungry. If you see me angry then give me something to eat and my anger will go away."
