New jurisprudence of social media will soon become our need: R. Venkatraramani

With every matter of human interaction or engagement in the public domain because of social media, it is imperative to have a new law of social media, said Attorney General of India (AGI) R. Venkataramani in Mangaluru on Sunday.

Delivering the 11th Silver Jubilee Endowment Lecture at the Golden Jubilee Celebrations of Shri Dharmastala Majunatheshwara Law College, Mr. Venkatramani said: “Every matter of human interaction or engagement is up for grabs, as they say, in the public domain. Social media runs very close in this run and also runs riot. A new jurisprudence of social media will soon become our need beyond the current regime of restrictions,” he said.

With technology virtually driving every aspect of life, the moot question to ponder will be as to how claim of fundamental Right to Equality under Article 14 will be addressed and resolved in the coming decades. “One is tempted to ask this question, if technology can also talk about its own dharma, which means whom will it serve, at what cost, and to fulfill what needs? What kind of external regulations by way of law can instruct, advise, or dictate technology, its purpose and its service,” he said.

The study and practice of law in the coming days will not be mere attention to “inane procedures or contracts and commerce of the days of Adam Smith”. The challenge for law practitioners will therefore be comprehending and articulating the dharma of rights “which will not be what we understand today”.

The AGI said the relation between what we do namely our karma and why we should do after due engagement of mind namely dharma is what he called as ‘Dharma of rights’. The future of study and practice of law is going to involve many questions of ethics and morals, individual and collective, he said.

The dharma of rights and dharma of the Constitution, he said, entails taking responsibility for every situation that we are in and every stage of situation. “For example, those who deserve equality and those who deny it both must take responsibility for what would be dharmic over a period of time. The demand for crossing 50% cap on reservation or the EWS idea are all examples of failure to take responsibility for claims without internal dharma,” he said. The search for right answers must be on the basis of not partisan politics. “This dharma of constitution will depend on what all of us individually and collectively do to bring the best in all to add sustainable meanings to it. In this there can be no exclusive role that can be assumed by any one institution,” he said.

“Law students should train themselves to go beyond the text of any law to fathom the dharma of a need or claim and the dharma of actions under the law,” the AGI stated.

Former Chief Justice of Kerala High Court Antony Dominic, former Karnataka High Court Judge Michael D’Cunha, Pattadhikari of Sri Kshetra Dharmastala and Rajya Sabha Member D. Veerendra Heggade and former Director of Symbiosis Law School Pune Shashikala Gurupur and former IAS officer Sham Bhat also spoke on the day.

Published - December 15, 2024 08:56 pm IST