Commission plans to make misuse of social media during polls a civil offence

Election Commission of India is planning to make misuse of social media platforms during elections a civil offence.

Any user found sharing or re-tweeting election-related contents in violation of the Model Code of Conduct, particularly during the 48-hour period before the voting day, is likely to be made liable for actions. As per Section 126 of the Representation of the People Act, 1951, political parties and candidates are liable for criminal actions under IPC for violating norms when the model code is in place. EC has the powers to disqualify a candidate if found breaching the code.

ET has learnt that a 14-member committee, appointed in January, is of the idea that social media violations be brought under the ambit of Section 126. The committee comprising EC members, social media experts and I&B ministry official is expected to table its report by the end of this week, a source told ET. EC will then share these recommendations with political parties before sending the report to the law commission.


It is under this section that Congress’ Rahul Gandhi was sent a show-cause notice for violating the mode code by giving an interview to a Gujarati news channel just a day before the state polls. It was, however, withdrawn later.

While EC has been mulling over drafting a new social media policy since 2013, the committee was formed after furore over the violations during the Gujarat elections.

“Under the current norms, we can book a politician and the owner of the television channel for violating norms, but there is no provision to book the four lakh social media users who shared the video of the interview and may have had a role in influencing the voter,” a source said.

The committee is looking at fixing the responsibility on the user or voter, as well as parties ‘interested’ in the election process. The model code in its current form prohibits candidates from displaying any election-related material by means of cinematograph, television or other apparatus during the 48-hour period before the voting day.

While Youtube can be controlled under the ‘cinematograph’ header, there are no provisions to penalise candidates or others who violate this code on other social media platforms