Notice has gone out on the Children Social Media Safeguards Plea filed by Indore’s Emerald Heights International School, and the Supreme Court has fixed December 7, 2026 for the next hearing.
New Delhi: Asked by a school and its Director to put an enforceable framework in place against online harms to children, or else to restrict their access to social media by age, the Supreme Court on October 16 issued notice and listed the petition for December 7, 2026 [Emerald Heights International School and Another v. Union of India].
Notice was ordered by the Bench presided over by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. The full composition of the Bench, and the parties to whom notice is returnable, were not available at the time of writing.
What the school is asking for
Through Advocate Vaibhav Choudhary, the school and its Director, Siddharth Singh, want the Court to direct the Central government to frame, notify and operationalise a dedicated, comprehensive and enforceable regulatory framework on children’s use of social media. Failing that, the petition seeks a ban on social media use by children below a prescribed age, along with legally enforceable age-based restrictions on designated platforms for older children.
Depression, anxiety, compulsive use, cyberbullying, grooming, sexual exploitation, exposure to harmful content and behavioural profiling are listed in the plea as the harms children meet online. These, it argues, “cannot be adequately addressed” through voluntary platform measures or parental controls alone. All of this is the petitioners’ contention, and the Union’s response is yet to be filed.
The rights and duties it relies on
Shielding children from harmful environments, the petition says, is a constitutional duty of the State. It draws on Article 21, which guarantees the right to life and personal liberty, and on the Directive Principles in Articles 39(e), 39(f) and 47, which call on the State to ensure that children are not abused and get opportunities to develop in conditions of freedom and dignity. The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is also cited. The plea wants a declaration that the continuing failure to protect children from foreseeable online risks is arbitrary and violates fundamental rights.
Not the first time the issue has come up
A public interest petition on the same subject was turned away in April 2025 by a Bench of Justices B.R. Gavai and Augustine George Masih. That petition had sought a social media ban for children under 13 and mandatory parental controls for those aged 13 to 18; the Bench called it a policy matter for the government and Parliament, and the petitioners were allowed to take their concerns to the Union government. The present petition puts an enforceable framework first and a ban only in the alternative, and Friday’s order shows it has got past the notice stage.
Before December 7
The Union government is expected to place its stand on record ahead of the hearing on December 7. For now the Court has expressed no view on the merits of the prayers, including whether a framework or an age-based restriction should be ordered at all.
Case Title: Emerald Heights International School and Another v. Union of India (case number not available)
Bench: Bench presided over by CJI Surya Kant, Supreme Court of India
Date of Order: October 16, 2026
Next Date: December 7, 2026
Appearances: Advocate Vaibhav Choudhary for the petitioners
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