Bhopal: The Sagar district administration has invoked Section 144 CrPC to ban the posting, messaging and forwarding of communal messages on Twitter, Facebook and WhatsApp.The decision was taken by collector Alok Kumar Singh after tension in the city following an alleged social media post on March 20. The prohibitory order will be in force till May 20.Singh said the ban is on posting and forwarding any message on social media that is “objectionable in nature or has communal overtones”. It’s in keeping with recent trend in MP administration and elsewhere in the country to restrict social media in law-and-order situations. The tactic proved effective in Narsinghpur district in November 2017, when Section 144 CrPC was used to stop farmers from posting “objectionable messages”.Referring to a report submitted by the Sagar SP, the collector’s order says “communal tension rose in the city following posting of objectionable audio, video and pictures”. “When a situation flares up, one has to act fast to stop social media misuse. This prohibitory order is meant to stop spread of communal tension and any deterioration of law and order by the misuse of social media,” he told TOI.Pukit Godha, a Bhopal-based lawyer practicing cyber law, said, “This is gross miscarriage of justice. Using Section 144 of CrPC one cannot prosecute a WhatsApp group member.” In Narsinghpur, the government was apprehensive of a protest by sugarcane farmers, who were unhappy with price and were using social media to organize an agitation, said Akshay Hunka, an activist in Bhopal.

Stay updated with all the Bhopal Latest News headlines here. For more exclusive & live news updates from all around India, stay connected with NYOOOZ.