Hateful content: Delhi Assembly panel summons Facebook India's MD Ajit Mohan

A Delhi Assembly committee has asked Facebook India Vice President and Managing Director Ajit Mohan to appear before it seeking an explanation from the social media giant after it felt that it should be impleaded as "co-accused" in Delhi riots in February.

The Committee on Peace and Harmony headed by AAP MLA Raghav Chadha has started a probe against Facebook following allegations that it did not adhere to its own policy of taking down hate posts by some BJP supporters fearing that it will anger the ruling party and will have an adverse impact on business.

Mohan has been asked to appear before the panel next Tuesday.

"Summons were issued on the basis of scathing depositions of the key witnesses as well as incriminating material submitted by them on record. Having regards to the compelling evidence brought forth by the witnesses, the committee is of the belief that Facebook should be impleaded as co-accused in the Delhi riots investigations," Chadha said.

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The panel had examined witnesses, co-author of ‘The Real Face of Facebook in India’ Paranjoy Thakurtha, journalists Awesh Tiwari and Kunal Purohit and digital rights activist Nikhil Pahwa.

"All the witnesses so far have strongly agreed that an independent probe must be carried out against the alleged role and complicity of Facebook in the orchestration and aggravation of Delhi riots," Chadha said. Facebook could not be reached for comments.

The committee has also urged the need of an independent investigation leading to the filing of a supplementary charge sheet in the ongoing cases related to Delhi riots on the basis of supportive and corroborative material during the course of the purported investigation.

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Chadha had earlier said the witnesses who deposed have spoken about an "unholy nexus" between Facebook and the BJP and the committee will further probe the allegations ranging from the role of Facebook in the riots in Delhi and other places.

During his deposition, Guha said that Facebook is not content-neutral as it claims to be and there were sufficient circumstantial evidences which show an unholy nexus between the ruling dispensation and Facebook. He also highlighted the complicity of Facebook in forwarding a certain narrative at the cost of suppressing contrasting narratives, thus reducing the visibility of the content critical of the ruling dispensation.

The community standard guidelines, which is a comprehensive set of rules claimed to be uniformly applied by Facebook globally, have allegedly not been applied in India, he claimed.

He also alleged that Facebook as well as WhatsApp has a massive role in aggravating riot situations happening in the country including riots of Muzaffarnagar, Bengaluru and north-east Delhi.

The witnesses also alleged that Das along with some other Facebook officials have close links with the government and it must be investigated. Facebook is deliberately and intentionally hindering free and fair elections in our country by actively colluding with the current ruling dispensation, the witnesses were quoted in an official statement as saying.