Right to silence is virtue in present noisy times: Facebook VP tells SC

New Delhi: Right to silence is a virtue in present noisy times , Facebook India Vice President and MD Ajit Mohan Wednesday told the Supreme Court while contending that the Delhi assembly has no legislative power to set up a panel to examine the issue of peace and harmony.

A bench of justices S K Kaul, Dinesh Maheshwari and Hrishikesh Roy reserved its verdict after lawyers representing Facebook official, Delhi assembly and the Centre wrapped up submissions on the plea of Mohan challenging summons issued by the Peace and Harmony committee for failing to appear before it as witness in connection with the north-east Delhi riots

matter.

Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for Facebook official, said setting up of the peace panel was not the core function of the Delhi assembly as the law and order issue fell under the domain of the Centre in the national capital.

There are two broad silos, one is existence of powers in compulsion of appearance and second is competence. I will submit that they (Delhi assembly) are wrong on both, the senior lawyer said.

During the proceedings held through video-conferencing, Salve said these kind of expansion of power through backdoor should not be allowed and in the noisy times of the present, right to silence is a virtue. And leave it to me to decide, whether or not I want to go .. .

Earlier, senior advocate A M Singhvi, representing the panel of the assembly, had said that the assembly has the power to summon.