CJI upset over lynchings; asks people to filter news

Expressing concern over the rising incidents of mob lynching, Chief Justice of India (CJI) Dipak Misra on Tuesday said that the blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by the citizens themselves.

He said that the citizens of the country should be “more accountable and responsible” in order to filter the information as per their judgement for relying and acting on the same.

Delivering the presidential address at a function organised by the International Law Association (ILA), CJI Misra said, "There is a recent surge in mob lynching based on viral text on the social media and this leads to mobocracy."

"The blatant reliance on social media needs to be checked by the citizens themselves to ensure peace and order in the society,” he added.

Media role

He also had a word of caution for media houses, who he said, must “introspect” and develop a sense of responsibility.

While holding that the freedom of press is the "mother of all liberties" in a democratic society, he said that the media should also have its own guidelines for self-regulation.

"I am of the firm belief that there should be no guidelines (for the media). Let them frame their own guidelines and be guided by that. Nothing can serve better than individual or collective guidelines of the press," he said.