Supreme Court voices concern over ‘atrocious’ social media trolling: Even judges are not immune

The Supreme Court on Monday (2 September) voiced its concerns over the issue of “social media trolling,” noting that even judges are not immune to such attacks.

The comments came during the hearing of a bail plea filed by Bibhav Kumar, the accused in Swati Maliwal assault case. The court described social media trolling as "atrocious" and suggested that the best course of action is to ignore comments made by "insensitive, irresponsible people."

A bench comprising Justices Surya Kant and Ujjal Bhuyan heard the case and ultimately granted Kumar bail. Justice Ujjal Bhuyan commented, "If we pass an order in favour of someone, the other side trolls the judge." He added, "Trolling on social media is really atrocious, and it affects everyone, including judges."

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Justice Surya Kant agreed, adding that such attacks should be ignored. He said, "A large section of irresponsible people, unfortunately, have access to these platforms. They are completely insensitive and irresponsible... they are unaware of their duties. They only think of some perceived rights and will continue to attack all institutions. The best response is to ignore them."

These observations were made as the court granted bail to Bibhav Kumar, an aide to Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Kumar was arrested 100 days ago on charges of allegedly assaulting Rajya Sabha MP Swati Maliwal, who is also a member of Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party, at the Chief Minister's residence.

During the hearing, Maliwal’s representative pointed out the online harassment his client has faced, stating, "The crime did not end on May 13... since then, there has been trolling and victim-shaming. I have to file a complaint... the petitioner’s associates are constantly trolling—on X, via emails, on various social media platforms... everywhere."

In response, Senior Advocate Dr. AM Singhvi, representing Kumar, argued that his client does not control 'X' (formerly known as Twitter). The bench, however, expressed sympathy for Maliwal's issues.

(With inputs from agencies)