Delhi High Court Declines Suo Motu Cognizance Of Social Media 'Trolling' Of Trial Judge Over Stay On FIR Against Abhijit Iyer Mitra

The Delhi High Court on Friday (June 12) refused to take suo motu cognizance of "social media trolling" of a trial court judge who stayed an order directing  FIR against commentator Abhijit Iyer Mitra on a complaint filed by digital news platform Newslaundry's Editorial Director Manisha Pande accusing him of abusing her and other women employees online.

For context, the trolling is stated to have happened after the trial court judge, in his order, said that the alleged derogatory words of Mitra were in form of shayari but no individual was specifically named therein.

The matter was mentioned today before a vacation bench headed by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna by Senior Advocate Percival Billimoria, Mitra's lawyer before the trial court.

Billimoria said that people were calling the trial court judge as "pathetic judge" and that remarks like “rotten institution" were made on social media.

However, the Court refused to take suo motu cognizance of the incident and remarked that no extraordinary measures were required.

“I do not see a case where I can take suo motu cognizance…..If I take cognizance today and tomorrow, I say that nothing is made out, it will look even bad for the institution…..Let something come before me. Suo motu, I am not inclined,” the Court said, adding that the senior counsel can take recourse to contempt of court action.

The controversy arose after the journalists contended that the allegedly defamatory posts by Iyer on X were libellous, unfounded and misconceived, tainted with collateral objectives, having been made knowingly and deliberately, calculated to harm the dignity and reputation of the women employees.

The magistrate court had ruled in favourof Pande who had sought registration of FIR against Mitra. The court had said that Mitra's tweets qualify as  “sexually coloured remarks" and were "prime facie" intended to insult the modesty of the complainant, who had been named in one of the tweets.

However, the sessions judge later stayed the order for registration of FIR.