Chief Justice of India Surya Kant on Thursday questioned the absence of accountability for creators of online content, remarking, “So I create my own channel, I am not accountable to anyone… somebody has to be accountable!" His remarks came during a Supreme Court hearing on regulating obscene and offensive material on digital platforms.
The bench of CJI Surya Kant and Justice Joymalya Bagchi said a “neutral, independent and autonomous" regulatory body was needed, expressing dissatisfaction with the current self-regulation model. The case stems from petitions filed by podcaster Ranveer Allahabadia and others challenging FIRs linked to allegedly obscene content in the India’s Got Latent show. The court had earlier expanded the scope to consider broader guidelines on online obscenity.
Appearing for the Centre, Attorney General R Venkataramani and Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the bench the Union government is formulating new guidelines and consulting stakeholders. The SG added that the issue extends beyond “obscenity" to “perversity" in User Generated Content (UGC) across YouTube and other social platforms.
“Freedom of speech is an invaluable right but it cannot lead to perversity," SG Mehta said. “Right to speech has to be respected, suppose there is a programme, if it has adult content, so some warning in advance must be there," the CJI added.
Senior Advocate Amit Sibal, representing the Indian Broadcast and Digital Foundation — which includes major OTT platforms — told the court that content is already regulated under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. According to LiveLaw, he noted that although parts of the Rules are stayed and under challenge before the Delhi High Court, OTT platforms voluntarily follow age ratings and that complaints are handled by a panel led by Justice (Retd.) Gita Mittal.
The CJI remained unconvinced by the self-regulatory framework. “Self styled bodies will not help… some neutral autonomous bodies which are free from the influence of those who exploit all of this and the state also is needed as a regulatory measure," he said. The court questioned why violations persist if self-regulation is effective.
Justice Bagchi raised concerns over harmful content: “Where the content is perceived as anti-national or disruptive of society’s norms, will the creator take responsibility for it? Will self-regulation be sufficient?" He noted that objectionable content often goes viral before authorities can act. “By the time the authorities react, it has gone viral… so how do you control that?"
According to LiveLaw, the SG told the court some statements in the India’s Got Latent show were “so disgusting and gross" that he could not repeat them in court. A representative of the News Broadcasters and Digital Association requested inclusion in the guideline-drafting process.
The bench suggested that the government publish draft guidelines for public comment and then form an expert committee of domain specialists and judicial experts to study the issue.
