Delhi Police arrested social media influencer Dr. Neelam Singh, popularly known as ‘The Skin Doctor’, over alleged posts targeting businessman Sunjay Kapur’s family following his death, according to reports.
According to Delhi Police sources, the complaint was lodged at Vasant Kunj Police Station on behalf of the Kapur family, after which police initiated action and arrested the influencer.
Reacting to the arrest, noted Supreme Court lawyer Mahesh Jethmalani described the case as “baseless and frivolous.”
“When the night magistrate gave him bail within five hours at 10 PM tonight, it became clear that he had done nothing wrong,” Jethmalani wrote.
He further claimed that the court questioned the urgency behind the arrest.
“Sources say that the Delhi Police was pulled up by the court and asked who pressured them to carry out the arrest. The case has no legal grounds, none whatsoever. But there is more to this than what meets the eye. Why was he arrested in such haste? Who ordered his arrest? More questions will be asked and more answers will come out soon,” he added.
Can you be arrested over social media posts in India?
Yes. Under Indian law, a person can face police action, including arrest, for certain types of social media posts if they are found to violate existing legal provisions.
India’s digital content ecosystem is governed primarily by the Information Technology Act, 2000 and the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. These laws aim to regulate unlawful online content, cyber offences, obscenity, misinformation and threats to public order.
The IT Act contains provisions dealing with:
Privacy violations under Section 66E
Publishing or transmitting obscene or sexually explicit content under Sections 67, 67A and 67B
Powers granted to police to investigate cyber offences under Section 78
Search and arrest provisions under Section 80
The IT Rules, 2021 place due diligence obligations on social media intermediaries and digital platforms, requiring them to prevent the spread of unlawful content and cooperate with law enforcement agencies where required.
India’s new criminal code, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), 2023, also contains provisions related to online harm, obscenity, misinformation and cyber-enabled offences.
The law includes provisions dealing with:
- Defamation
- Hate speech
- Spreading rumours or misinformation
- Obscene acts and electronic display of obscene material
Part III of the IT Rules, 2021 also lays down a Code of Ethics for digital news publishers and OTT platforms. Platforms are prohibited from hosting or transmitting content banned under Indian law.
In a blog post, one advocate Puneet Thakur said police may take action against social media posts if they:
- Promote hatred between communities, religions or castes
- Spread fake or misleading information
- Defame an individual
- Threaten national security or public order
- Contain abusive, violent or threatening language.
