The Supreme Court on Thursday declined to entertain a public interest petition that had sought action against people propagating hate on social media, specifically through hashtags, and the deletion of the offending posts.

Instead, it asked petitioner Aijazuddin Khawaja, an advocate from Telangana, to approach the state high court.

“How can the court stop this? You are saying people are saying wrong things on Twitter.... This is like saying people are saying wrong things on phone…. So ask the telecom department to take action! How can we direct MTNL?” Chief Justice S.A. Bobde said.

Khawaja had flagged derogatory and provocative comments and hashtags targeting the Muslim community on social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook.

He had argued the trend would fan communal tensions, and the Supreme Court should therefore direct authorities across the country to get such messages and hashtags removed.

But the bench said it could not pass such sweeping orders on the basis of a mere petition, and asked Khawaja to approach Telangana High Court.

Sensing the court’s mood, the petitioner sought permission to withdraw the plea. The bench, which included Justice Aniruddha Bose, agreed.