Supreme Court ‘Delinks’ Itself From WhatsApp; Know The Reason

New Delhi: The Supreme Court will no longer use WhatsApp groups to share video conference links for court hearings.

In a circular, the SC registry said instead of WhatsApp, the links for virtual court hearings in the top court will be shared on registered email IDs and mobile numbers of the advocates and persons concerned.

The step was taken in the wake of the newly notified Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021).

“It is notified for the information of the Advocates-on-Record /Party-in-Persons that the creation of groups in WhatsApp for sharing of VC links for hearing of their matters is restricted/barred due to new guidelines or regulations issued by government of India pertaining to social media Apps and OTT platforms,” said the circular issued on Saturday.

It said the VC links shall be shared “w.e.f. March 1, 2021 through registered email IDs as well as by SMS on registered mobile numbers of the Ld. Advocates-on-Record / Party-in-Persons”.

Notably, the government on Thursday announced sweeping regulations for social media firms like Facebook and Twitter as well as OTT players, NDTV reported.

The guidelines also make it mandatory for platforms such as Twitter and WhatsApp to identify the originator of a message that authorities consider to be anti-national and against the security and sovereignty of the country.