Supreme Court strikes down Section 66A of IT Act, declares it unconstitutional
25 March 2015 7:52 AM GMT
Apex court ruled that Section 66 affects the fundamental right to freedom of speech
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Section 66A of the IT Act provides for the arrest of a person for posting objectionable comments on the Internet and social media. (Photo: PTI)
New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared unconstitutional Section 66A of the IT Act that provided for the arrest of a person for posting objectionable comments on the Internet and social media.
Describing liberty of thought and expression as cardinal in a democracy, a bench of Justices J. Chelameswar and Rohinton Nariman said, “The public’s right to know is directly affected by Section 66A of the IT Act and it clearly affects the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression enshrined under the Constitution.”
Writing the 123-page order, Justice Nariman pointed out that terms like “annoying”, “inconvenient” and “grossly offensive”, used in Section 66A of the IT Act, introduced by an amendment in 2009, were vague as it was difficult for a law enforcement agency and an offender to know the ingredients of the offence. “When judicially trained minds can reach different conclusions while going through the same content, then how is it possible for a law enforcement agency and others to decide as to what is offensive and what is grossly offensive? What may be offensive to one person may not be offensive to another.”
The bench, however, upheld the provision empowering the government to block access to websites if their content had the potential to create communal disturbances, social disorder or affect India’s friendly relations with other countries.
( Source : dc )
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