Innocent Until Trending Guilty: The Constitutional Crisis Of Social Media Trials In India
- IJLLR Journal
- 15 hours ago
- 2 min read
Rahul Basak, LL.B., Amity Law School, Amity University Kolkata, India
ABSTRACT
While the presumption of innocence is a cornerstone of criminal jurisprudence, one could say that in our digital age guilt is being declared as much outside the courtroom as within it. It is no longer confined to legal proceedings but is put on display by way of trending hashtags, viral footage, the selective leak of information and the kind of outrage that algorithms are only too happy to amplify. In this respect, social media has given rise to a form of public adjudication of its own, where an accusation can stand in for evidence and a reputation be ruined as punishment well in advance of any judicial verdict.
This article sets out to determine if the constitutional protections afforded under Article 21 of the Constitution of India be they for fair trial, privacy, dignity or personal liberty can hold up against the phenomenon of the social media trial and digital mob justice. The argument put forward here is that these have become more than a matter of prejudicial publicity; they are a separate brand of extra-judicial digital retribution with the power to do lasting damage to one’s professional and economic standing, all without the benefit of procedural safeguards or a proper appeal.
We also look at the friction between the rights of an accused and the freedom of speech enshrined in Article 19(1)(a), and how online fervour and manipulated digital evidence serve to harden premature public opinion. A review of Indian constitutional law and the regulatory voids that exist will inform a proposed framework for a digital presumption of innocence founded on proportionality and contextual integrity. For when punishment has made its way into the digital public sphere, it is untenable to think that constitutional protection should be left to the four walls of a court.
Keywords: Social Media Trials; Presumption of Innocence; Digital Mob Justice; Fair Trial; Criminal Jurisprudence.
