A total of 130 cases of “hate news” were reported to social media platforms between the 2019 Lok Sabha election and the latest round of Assembly polls in five States held earlier this year, Law Minister Kiren Rijiju informed the Rajya Sabha on Thursday. Mr. Rijiju made these remarks while responding to the BJP’s Kirodi Lal Meena. “Total number of ‘hate news’ cases reported to social media platforms is 130...,” he said.
During the 2019 Lok Sabha election, 58 such cases were reported. While the Maharashtra and Haryana Assembly election in 2019 saw only one such case being reported, in the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, 34 cases were reported.
In the Assam, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala and Puducherry Assembly polls last year, 29 cases of “hate news” were reported, he added.
Answering a question from Congress member Deepender Hooda on the number of pending cases in the country’s top court, the Minister said over 10,000 cases are pending for over a decade out of a total backlog of around 71,000 cases
In a written response, he said 71,411 cases as on August 2 were pending before the top court, which included over 56,000 civil matters and over 15,000 criminal matters.
Of the total 71,411 pending cases in the top court, 10,491 were pending for more than 10 years. Over 42,000 cases were pending for less than five years and 18,134 between five and 10 years, the Minister added. The Law Minister said while 40,28,591 cases were pending in the various High Courts in 2016, their numbers went up to 59,55,907 as on July 29 this year -- a rise of 50%.
