FIR against Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb for Spreading 'Fake News'

Agartala, April 4, 2020:

An FIR has been filed against Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Kumar Deb, allegedly for disseminating false information or 'fake news.' The FIR, filed by former Congress Chief and MLA, Gopal Roy, targets Deb for making misleading pronouncements to the press.

On April 2, while attending a "mock drill" to test the State's preparedness to deal with COVID-19, Biplab had said that "19 coronavirus cases have been found in Manipur and 16 coronavirus cases have been found in Karimganj, Assam."

This statement has been recorded as false or fake, as the total number of cases in the two areas that he mentioned are far lesser. Whereas Manipur has recorded 2 cases of the virus, Karimganj in Assam's Barak Valley has recorded a single case, which was Assam's first.

Thus, the complainant filed his FIR under IPC sections 182, 505 (1) (b) for spreading "fake news."

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This FIR, it must be noted, has been filed against the backdrop of stringent measures adopted by the Government to stop the spread of false information in these very sensitive times. Even media organizations have been kept on a leash and the slightest bit of misinformation has drawn severe backlash from the current administration. Thus, it will be very interesting to note how the Government reacts to a head of state disseminating such false information.

Meanwhile, even the Supreme Court of India has called upon the Government to ensure that there is no dissemination of news that could cause widespread panic as cases of the COVID-19 continue to soar across the country. Further, there has been an increasing scrutiny on the media to ensure that correct and verified information is relayed to the masses at a time when information could be key to averting disasters. However, it has been observed that false or fake information (or "WhatsApp-iyapa, in the colloquial) could do severe damage to a nation currently staring at unceratainty.

Media should maintain a strong sense of responsibility, while disseminating news on coronavirus and should ensure that unverified and fake news is not published, the Supreme Court said on Tuesday after the central government drew the court’s attention to the possibility of people panicking due to “fake” and “inaccurate reporting” of news connected with Covid-19.

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Media should refer to and publish the official version about developments regarding coronavirus threat, the court said, while maintaining that it does not intend to interfere with the “free discussion” about the pandemic.

“We expect the media (print, electronic or social) to maintain a strong sense of responsibility and ensure that unverified news capable of causing panic is not disseminated. We do not intend to interfere with the free discussion about the pandemic, but direct the media refer to and publish the official version about the developments”, the order passed by the court read.

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