No clampdown on info, Will be contempt of court: SC

The Supreme Court on Friday said no state can register a first information report (FIR) or take any action against people appealing for help or putting out their grievances on social media or elsewhere during the coronavirus pandemic. "We will treat this as contempt of our court. Let us hear the voices of our citizens and not clampdown," the top court said. “It is a grave concern to me as a citizen or judge. If citizens communicate their grievances on social media, we do not want to clamp down on information,” Justice DY Chandrahud said during the hearing as cases of Covid-19 surged across the country.

Supreme Court has said there should not be any presumption that grievances raised on the internet by citizens are false. The Supreme Court bench hearing a suo motu case on the Covid situation in the country said, "We agree that health infrastructure we inherited over past 70 years is not adequate." The court further noted that the healthcare sector has come to a breaking point and retired doctors or officials could be re-employed to help the country battle the second wave of Covid.

Solicitor General (SG) Tushar Mehta explained that the Centre is assisting all states asking for help and to a large extent, problems of Delhi are also eased out. The top court asked about a timeline to increase the number of tankers to facilitate transportation. "Give Delhi the additional 200 metric ton of oxygen they need. And also ensure it reaches Delhi," the Supreme Court asked SG Mehta. The Supreme Court told the Arvind Kejriwal-government that this is "no time for political bickering", and it should cooperate with centre.