Chennai, Nov 12:
The Madras High Court has directed the Director General of Police (DGP) to file a response within two weeks to a public interest litigation seeking uniform administrative safeguards for police while handling complaints involving social media posts, political criticism, and online satire.
A division bench comprising Chief Justice S.A. Dharmadhikari and Justice G. Arul Murugan issued the notice on a petition filed by advocate H. Syed Alim, who sought the issuance of a Police Standing Order or circular to prevent arbitrary arrests and mechanical registration of FIRs by local stations and cybercrime units. Citing recent criminal cases registered against DMK MLA G.V. Markandeyan and party activists Anbanandam and Vinoth Suriya Kumar over political remarks, the petitioner contended that police frequently initiate coercive action without verifying the legal maintainability of complaints, the locus standi of complainants, or constitutional protections guaranteed under Articles 14, 19(1)(a), and 21.
During the hearing, Additional Public Prosecutor Arun Anbumani informed the bench that two connected petitions were already pending before a single judge and submitted that the state government had initiated the process of formulating a comprehensive Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) governing police action on online speech and political criticism.