HC orders police to delete photos of arrestees from the internet

Jodhpur: Expressing displeasure over the common practice of arrestees being photographed in front of police stations and their images being circulated via news reports and social media posts, the Rajasthan High Court Tuesday directed the Jaisalmer superintendent of police to make all necessary arrangements to ensure the immediate removal of such content from web portals, social media handles and other platforms.This direction came from a single bench of Justice Farjand Ali following the submission of a photograph in which several women were shown sitting at the entrance of a police station in Jaisalmer. Counsel for the petitioner Razak Khan contended that this photograph, circulated indiscriminately on local newspapers and social media platforms, featured unmarried young girls and portrayed them as criminals.
The court also took suo moto cognisance of a similar matter reported from Jodhpur, in which an advocate, Mohan Singh Ratnu, was arrested by Jodhpur police in connection with a property case and photographed at the entrance of a police station. The photograph later went viral on social media and news platforms."The alleged act is not only inhumane in nature but also strikes at the very root of basic human rights and amounts to a clear infraction of the constitutional guarantees enshrined under the law," the court observed. Appointing advocate Devkinandan Vyas as an amicus curiae in the matter, the court directed the Jodhpur police commissioner to immediately remove Ratnu's photographs from all web portals and social media platforms. The court also directed relevant authorities to ensure compliance of its orders within 24 hours and report back to in on the next hearing on Jan 28.The judge also sought a detailed reply to satisfy the court that adequate, effective, and institutional safeguards were put in place to ensure that such incidents were not repeated in future within the jurisdiction of the Jodhpur police commissionerate.