The Supreme Court today justified rules framed by the Centre mandating websites to remove objectionable post within 36 hours from networking sites after receiving a complaint and refused to stay it.
A bench of justices H L Gokhale and J Chelameswar said a holistic view needs to be taken on it as the impact of any objectionable post on websites is huge and it can spread all over the country.
"In a huge country of 120 crores people, if something objectionable is published, then it has the consequences all over the country, particularly if it is related to political and religious issues. You have to remove it then. We have to take a holistic approach. You know how rumour spreads," the bench said.
It turned down the plea of a website mouthshut.Com, a user-generated content and consumer review website, which submitted Information Technology (Intermediaries guidelines) Rules violates its freedom of speech and expression and asked for a stay on its operation.
