The Supreme Court, on April 28, expressed serious concern over the spread of obscene and indecent content on OTT platforms and social media. The Court agreed to consider a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking strict regulation of such content. The Union Government informed the Court that new regulations to tackle this issue are being contemplated.
A bench consisting of Justice BR Gavai and Justice AG Masih took up the plea and acknowledged that it raised an issue of "important concern." The Court issued notices to the Union Government as well as leading OTT platforms like Netflix, Amazon Prime, AltBalaji, Ullu Digital, and Mubi. Social media giants like X Corp (formerly Twitter), Google, Meta Inc, and Apple were also included.
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The bench ordered that this petition be heard along with other similar pending cases.
Advocate Vishnu Shankar Jain, representing the petitioners, clarified that the plea was not adversarial but raised a serious social concern. He pointed out the unchecked circulation of objectionable content on social media platforms.
At this moment, Justice Gavai asked the Union Government for its stand, saying:
"Yes, Mr Solicitor? Do something...something legislative.."
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Responding to the Court’s concerns, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said that he agreed with several points raised by the petitioners. He mentioned that after reviewing the submitted list of programs, he also found that obscene material was widespread even in regular shows.
Highlighting the severity, SG Mehta stated:
"Some programmes are so perverted that even two respectable men cannot sit together and watch them."
He emphasized that while complete censorship is not advisable, there is a clear need for some degree of regulation to maintain decency.
"There is some regulation in place, some is in contemplation,"
the Solicitor General informed the Court.
The Supreme Court, recording these submissions, noted:
"This petition raises an important concern with regard to the display of various objectionable, obscene, and indecent contents on OTT platforms and social media. Learned Solicitor General fairly states that contents go to the extent of perversity. He submits that certain more regulations are in contemplation."
The lead petitioner in the case is journalist and former Information Commissioner Uday Mahurkar. Other petitioners include Sanjeew Newar, Sudeshna Bhattacharjya Mukherjee, Shatabdi Pande, and Svati Goyal.
The issue of regulating content on OTT platforms and social media has been under discussion for some time. In another recent case involving Ranveer Allahabadia, the Supreme Court had urged the Union Government to consider implementing rules to control obscene and indecent content on these platforms.
Case Title: UDAY MAHURKAR AND ORS. Versus UNION OF INDIA AND ORS., W.P.(C) No. 313/2025.
