The Karnataka High Court on Friday disposed of a public interest litigation challenging the notification issued in July, by the Union Government, through the Ministry of Human Resources Development (MHRD), directing all Higher Education Institutes, to connect social media accounts, of all the students and teachers to their respective institution account to be created and designated as 'Social Media Champion' which in turn will be interconnected with all other institutes and finally to the Ministry of Human Resource and Development account.



A division bench of Chief Justice Abhay Oka and Justice S R Krishna Kumar disposed off the petition after perusing the notification which reads that was it was not mandatory and only in the form of a request made to the higher educational institutions for connecting social media accounts to share achievements with each other.

A practising advocate Ramesh Naik L had moved the court challenging the circular stating that the notification infringes the 'Fundamental Right to Privacy' and affects the social, educational life of large number of students and teachers of HEIs and also restricts their 'Fundamental Right to Freedom of Speech and Expression' and would therefore violate Article 19(1)(a) and 21 of the Constitution of India.

The plea states that the decision of the Ministry is arbitrary, and without application of mind. Moreover, connecting the social media accounts amounts to indirect surveillance to be kept on the attitude and thoughts of the individual which will be an impediment to express one's own ideas, views. The plea prays to quash the notification issued on July 3.