CHENNAI: The State has submitted in the Madras High Court that a social media cell has been formed in all the districts of Tamil Nadu to monitor the defamatory and abusive posts.

A litigant, L K Charles Alexander, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Madras High Court (MHC) to direct the State to issue necessary strict instructions to social media users who violate the rules.

The case was listed before the first division bench of the MHC comprising Chief Justice SV Gangapurwala and Justice D Bharatha Chakravarthy.

The State government pleader P Muthukumar filed an affidavit on behalf of the State.

The affidavit reads that in compliance with the Court order a social media cell has been formed in every district commissionerate with at least one sub-inspector and the other ranks officers.

The special cell also functions under the supervision of the respective Superintendent of Police and Commissioner.

In March 2020, a one-day training programme was organized for the special cell officers, and 110 police personnels from all over the State had attended the programme, reads the affidavit.

The Station House Officer (SHO) will monitor the social media and take immediate steps to remove offensive and abusive content.

Further, the SHO also cultivates source and collects intelligence within their jurisdiction to identify the persons, who are posting such offensive content on social media.

After the submission, the bench closed the litigation.