Garhwal Post Bureau
Nainital, 17 Feb: Uttarakhand High Court has delivered strong observations in a matter concerning alleged journalism through digital and social media platforms, cautioning that activities undertaken in the name of journalism must strictly adhere to the prescribed Code of Ethics. Failure to comply, the Court warned, could invite legal consequences.
The remarks were made by Justice Rakesh Thapliyal while hearing Himanshu Thakur vs. State of Uttarakhand and Others (Writ Petition (Criminal) No 249 of 2026) yesterday.
During the proceedings, the Court was informed that a ‘media byte’ released by the petitioner on social media had allegedly tarnished the reputation of the complainant. The complainant stated that, following the circulation of the video, she had been receiving numerous WhatsApp messages and departmental proceedings had been initiated against her, despite the original complaint having been withdrawn.
The Counsel for the petitioner apprised the Court that the controversial media byte had since been deleted from social media platforms.
The Court also took note of the 2021 notification issued under Section 87(2) of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which framed the IT (Intermediary Guidelines) Rules, 2011 and subsequent rules relating to digital media. Justice Thapliyal specifically referred to Rule 9, which mandates that every digital media publisher is bound to comply with the Code of Ethics prescribed in India.
