A court in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur on Saturday ordered police to register a case against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey whose picture holding a controversial poster had kicked up a row.
A court in Rajasthan’s Jodhpur on Saturday ordered police to register a case against Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey whose picture holding a controversial poster had kicked up a row.
Metropolitan Magistrate Rachna Bissa ordered Basni police station to file the FIR on a complaint by Rajkumar Sharma, the state vice president of the Vipra Foundation’s youth wing.
Sharma said he submitted a written FIR in Basni police station, but the police didn’t register a case after which he approached the court.
The photo was taken during Dorsey's recent trip to India.
Sharma had said the post was "anti-Brahmin" and used coarse language, which was humiliating and thus, intolerable for the community.
Twitter has tendered an apology in the matter and said the post did not reflect its views or those of its CEO.
Sharma said Dorsey had not apologised.
Even if he apologises, it would not mitigate his crime, he added.
Saraswat said the petition has been filed under various sections of the Indian Penal Code, including 295 A (deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings), 500 (defamation) and 120 B (criminal conspiracy).
"He (Dorsey) has committed the crime of triggering hatred for a community and we would proceed against him in the court," he added.
The class-specific poster seemed to have offended many Indians with the former chief financial officer of Infosys, TV Mohandas Pai, accusing Dorsey of "hate-mongering" against Brahmins and of institutionalising hatred.
"As an Indian, I am disappointed at Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey's 'Smash Brahminical Patriarchy' placard - will Minister @Ra_THORe (Rajyavardhan Rathore) pl take action for this hate mongering against an Indian community, spreading hatred? @PMOIndia @rsprasad," Pai tweeted.
Twitter, in a statement, said it had hosted a closed-door discussion with a group of women journalists and change makers from India to better understand their experience about Twitter.
One of the participants shared her experience as a Dalit woman and at the conclusion of the session, gifted a poster to Jack, a Twitter spokesperson said.
"The sentiments expressed on the poster do not reflect the views of Twitter as a company or Jack as the CEO, and we regret that this picture has detracted from an otherwise insightful trip to India," the spokesperson added.
The spokesperson said Twitter is a platform where "marginalised voices can be seen and heard, but we also have a public commitment to being apolitical. We realise that this photo may not accurately represent that commitment".
However, users seemed unconvinced with many questioning why the CEO of a large company would hold such a poster.
Twitter, which has over 300 million monthly active users, counts India as among its largest markets. It has a large number of Indian politicians on its platform, who engage regularly with the public and extensively use it around elections. The company, however, does not break out its country-specific user count.
Earlier this month, Dorsey made his maiden trip to India. During his visit, he met Tibetan spiritual leader Dalai Lama and Congress President Rahul Gandhi. Dorsey also met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and discussed the importance of global conversations on social media platforms.
The Twitter spokesperson said its global platform serves global, public conversation, and elevates a diversity of views, ideas, and perspectives.
"When our executives travel, they meet with a range of public figures from around the world that represent the diversity of the conversation on our platform. This recent trip to India was no exception and Jack and Vijaya met with leaders across the political spectrum, and from a range of religious and cultural backgrounds," the spokesperson said.
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