Supreme Court strikes down the controversial law Section 66A
Posted on: 24/Mar/2015 12:05:08 PM - No. of views : (2093)
The Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a controversial law Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, introduced in 2000 that made posting "offensive" comments online a crime punishable by jail, after a long campaign by defenders of free speech. The law had been challenged first by a law student named Shreya Singhal after two young women were arrested in 2012 for posting comments critical of the total shutdown in Mumbai after the death of Bal Thackeray, the Shiv Sena chief. The group that challenged the law in the Supreme Court expanded to include the NGO Common Cause and Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen.
The Supreme Court said the 2009 amendment to India`s Information Technology Act known as section 66A was unconstitutional and a restriction on freedom of speech.
The bench of justice J Chelameswar and justice RF Nariman while pronouncing the verdict said the offences laid down under sec 66A does not lay down clearly defined lines.
The court said that the controversial section was being misused by the police to arrest those who posted their opinion on websites. Governments come and go but section 66A will remain forever, the court said, while refusing to consider Centre`s assurance that the law in question will not be abused.
