Why is the army not allowed to use social media?

The government recently passed a policy that bans members of the Army from using social networking platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter etc. Further, the government ordered army members to delete their social media accounts.

This government order was challenged before the Delhi High Court in a petition saying that the ban violates the fundamental rights of army personnel. Now, the Court has upheld the ban and said that it cannot interfere. The Court said that the judiciary has limited power to examine issues concerning defence and national security.

Does this mean that military members don’t have fundamental rights like ordinary citizens? What does the law say?

Fundamental rights of the military

Under Article 33 of our Constitution, the Parliament can decide to what extent the fundamental rights apply to members of the armed forces. This means that the Parliament can modify, restrict, or overturn the application of fundamental rights with regard to military forces. Fundamental rights of the armed forces can be restricted to ensure that they do their duty properly and maintain discipline.

The Parliament has enacted various laws such as the Army Act, Air Force Act and Navy Act, which have rules that restrict the fundamental rights of military personnel.

However, court judgements have discussed the need to achieve a balance between military discipline and fundamental rights of armed forces. In Prithi Pal Singh Bedi v. Union of India, the Supreme Court said that while looking into disputes around Article 33, the court should try to hold the balance between two conflicting public interests. One interest is the necessity of discipline in armed personnel to preserve national security. The other interest is protecting the fundamental rights of these armed personnel who are responsible for our national security.

In R Viswan v. Union of India, the Supreme Court said that our Constitution makers were concerned about the Article 33 restrictions on fundamental rights, and wanted to ensure that these restrictions are absolutely necessary for ensuring proper discharge of duties and to maintain discipline in the armed forces. Therefore, there is a certain amount of flexibility in imposing such restrictions and the Parliament can determine the permissible extent to which fundamental rights of military personnel can be restricted.