Freedom continues on Social Media

Supreme Court strikes down Section 66A of IT Act

Good news for all Social Media lovers comes on Tuesday as Supreme Court takes freedom of speech to the Net by striking down much abused Section 66A of the Information Technology Act which authorized police to arrest people for social media posts construed “offensive” or “menacing”.

Supreme Court of India

What is Section 66A of the ITAct?

Section 66A defines the punishment for sending “offensive” messages through a computer or any other communication device like a mobile phone or a tablet. A conviction can fetch a maximum of three years in jail and a fine.

What Supreme Court says on this?

“If Section 66A is otherwise invalid, it cannot be saved by an assurance from the learned Additional Solicitor-General that it will be administered in a reasonable manner. Governments may come and governments may go, but Section 66A goes on forever. An assurance from the present government, even if carried out faithfully, would not bind any successor govt.,” the court said.

How did the controversy begin?

The first petition came up in the court following the arrest of two girls in Maharashtra by Thane Police in November 2012 over a Facebook post. The girls had made comments on the shutdown of Mumbai for the funeral of Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray. 

As most cases of arrest were reported in 2012. Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra was arrested for forwarding caricatures on Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee on Facebook. Activist Aseem Trivedi was arrested for drawing cartoons lampooning Parliament and the Constitution to depict their ineffectiveness. Air India employee Mayank Sharma and K V Rao from Mumbai were arrested for allegedly posting offensive comments against politicians on their Facebook group. Businessman Ravi Srinivasan was booked by Puducherry police for an allegedly offensive tweet against the son of a former cabinet minister.

Why it has been opposed from long time?

As, it is seen from long time that this section had been widely misused by police in various states to arrest innocent persons for posting critical comments about social and political issues and political leaders on social networking sites. 

What do you think decision made by SC on 66A is Right/Wrong?

Please, give your opinion by commenting on this topic, your valuable comments can enlighten many thoughts.

Note - This is my humble request to everyone that, do not misuse the freedom of social media by making it offensive, do not post anything bad about anyone that hurts feeling or emotions.