Indian expatriate has been sentenced with fine of Dh250,000 (Approximately 20,000 KD) and deportation by Dubai court for sharing a post on Facebook, which is intendent to defame a prominent jewellery group. The court has also ordered to delete the related photos and close the site [his Facebook profile in this case] for one year.

Bineesh Punnakkal Arumughan from Kerala, who is working in Sharja was arrested by Dubai Police in August last year for sharing a Facebook post against his former employer Malabar Gold and Diamonds. He was one of the many social media users in India and the UAE who trolled the company for running a competition for its customers on Pakistan’s Independence Day in Dubai.

Among the trolls against the company was a photo of a cake cutting ceremony of Pakistan’s Independence Day in Dubai. Though the ceremony was conducted by another company here, the hate campaigners portrayed it as an event by Malabar Gold and Diamonds and called for boycotting the group, accusing it of treason against India.

The firm had registered a case against the accused because he had shared the post even though he was aware that the event in the photo was held in another company and the people photographed are not from Malabar Gold. It is said that Arumughan apologized for his act after which the management of Malabar Gold and Diamonds withdrew the complaint. But, the prosecution went ahead with the case as the accused had violated the law of the land.

This verdict is a strong deterrent for people who misuse social media to defame and take revenge against individuals and companies by propagating false news.

The verdict gives a clear message to the people and companies that they must always make it a point to confirm the accuracy and impact of their content when posting, citing and sharing any information on social media and certainly avoid posting any information that may result in damaging anyone’s reputation.