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New Delhi:
A senior rank officer of the Indian Army Monday approached the Delhi High Court difficult a current coverage banning armed forces officers from utilizing social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram.
The petition, more likely to come up for listening to on Tuesday, sought the court docket’s path to the Director General of Military Intelligence to withdraw its June 6 coverage to the extent that it orders all of the members of the Indian Army to delete their accounts from Facebook and Instagram and 87 different purposes.
Lieutenant Colonel PK Choudhary, who’s at the moment posted in Jammu and Kashmir, stated within the plea that he’s an lively person of Facebook and makes use of the platform to attach together with his family and friends as most of them are settled overseas, together with his elder daughter.
In the petition, filed by way of advocates Shivank Pratap Singh and Sanandika Pratap Singh, the officer sought path to the central authorities by way of Ministry of Defence to withdraw its June 6 coverage to “ensure that the fundamental rights of armed forces personnel are not abrogated, amended or modified by arbitrary executive action which is not backed by the mandate of law, offends the provisions of the Army Act and Rules made thereunder and is unconstitutional”.
The plea stated Mr Choudhary received to know by way of a July 9 information report in regards to the Army’s order requiring him and different personnel to delete Facebook, Instagram and 87 different purposes by July 15.
On July 10, he acquired a letter titled “Policy On Use Of Social Media Platforms And Mobile Phones In IA” issued by the Director General of Military Intelligence, banning the usage of 89 purposes and web sites and directed deletion the accounts, the plea stated, including that because the coverage is classed as restricted, he’s not reproducing any a part of it right here.
The plea claimed that the provisions of the coverage violate numerous elementary rights of the petitioner underneath the Constitution together with the fitting to freedom of speech and expression and proper to privateness.
It stated troopers serve in distant areas, excessive climate situations, troublesome terrain, with the lingering risk of an enemy assault always, and the skilled hazards are a direct explanation for troopers committing suicides, and in some instances taking pictures at their fellow troopers earlier than taking their very own lives.
“In a majority of cases the precursor to such incidents is denial of leave to the soldier. The soldiers rely on social networking platforms like Facebook to address various issues arising in their families while posted in remote locations and often use the virtual connect to compensate for the physical distance existing between themselves and their families.
“Soldiers can view photos, movies and so forth. of occasions comparable to weddings, birthdays and different occasions of cultural significance in actual time and even at a later date as per their comfort and want. This is the great thing about social community platforms like Facebook. Therefore, the respondents (authorities) should get up to the advantages that these web sites/purposes allow the usage of these web sites and purposes for Soldiers and put in place a mechanism to make sure its misuse,” the petition said.
It alleged that the policy which bans social media platforms is “unlawful, arbitrary, disproportionate, violates the elemental rights of troopers together with however not restricted to the liberty of speech and expression, the fitting to life and the fitting to privateness”.
It said the authorities have cited security concerns and risk of data breach as the basis of imposing the restrictions contained in the policy regarding usage of social media platforms but the act of banning it is a clear violation of Article 14 (Equality before law) of the Constitution.
“It is submitted that no different skilled military serving in a constitutional democracy has put such unreasonable and senseless restrictions on its troopers. The respondent no.2 has conveniently shifted its personal burden and duty to control use of social networking platforms onto the troopers, assuming that it has unfettered energy to abrogate and limit the elemental rights of troopers.
“It is noteworthy that the policy has an entire section dedicated to measures such as sensitisation and training of personnel to avoid breach of security and data. This gives rise to a glaring absurdity,” the plea stated.
It additionally sought to declare that the Director General of Military Intelligence is just not empowered underneath the Constitution or underneath some other regulation to change, amend or abrogate the elemental rights of the petitioner and different members of the armed forces.
Besides, the Centre and Director General of Military Intelligence, the petition has additionally made Chief of the Army Staff, who’s the skilled head, commander and the highest-ranking navy officer of the Indian Army, celebration to the petition.
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