Three PILs moved, to be heard today

The pleas are likely to come up for hearing on Wednesday. In one of the PILs, Silambarasan from Hosur sought a direction to suspend Shekar, Deputy Tahsildar (Elections), who claims to have ordered the firing on the protesters on May 22. He also sought to constitute an independent judicial committee headed by a sitting High Court judge to enquire into the ‘ignorant act’ of the officials. 

While stating that there was adequate information to the district authorities about the large gathering on May 22, he said the police, while failing to take precautionary methods to handle the protest, had instead resorted to firing, killing 13 people, including the shooting of a teenager in her face. 

Also, on highlighting the government claim that the shooting order was passed by a Deputy Tahsildar, the plea said it is common knowledge that an officer of Deputy Tahsildar rank has no authority to issue such shooting orders. 

Another PIL filed by S Rajanikanth, president, Makkal Arasu Katchi, Chennai, apart from other directions, sought to suspend the police officers who had indulged in violent activities and killed innocent people in the firing. He also sought for a direction to the state to pay a compensation of Rs 5 crore to the families of those who lost their lives in the police firing and to constitute a Judicial Enquiry Committee headed by a sitting High Court judge into the incident. 

The third PIL moved by activist Traffic Ramaswamy urged the High Court to establish a high-level Social Media Monitoring Committee supervised by a Special Investigation Team headed by either a sitting or retired Supreme Court judge to take urgent measures to restrict coverage of trouble/violence prone incidents. 

Stating that the suspension of internet in the districts of Thoothukudi, Kanniyakumari and Tirunelveli from May 23 to 27 was unconstitutional, Ramaswamy sought the regulation of social media instead of snapping internet. 

Referring to a Supreme Court judgment, which slammed the live coverage of the November 26, 2008, terrorist attack in Mumbai, he said there have been recent instances of mob lynching of innocent public owing to rumours circulated in social media about child lifters. 

Pointing out that the live telecast of mob violence fuels further such mob rioting where the truth remains submerged in mob psychology, he said these live telecasts by many regional and national TV channels must either be banned or regularised.