Current Affairs

Issue

Supreme Court has expressed disappointment over continued usage of Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000. even after 6 years of its judgment to strike it off.

Background

The Supreme Court had given a landmark judgment in what is known as Shreya Singhal vs. Union of India, which struck off section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000.

Details

• The central government has asked states to withdraw all cases filed under Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000 and also not register such cases in future.

• The Supreme Court had given a landmark judgment in 2015 to remove the unconstitutional and vague provisions under the Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000.

Provisions under section 66A

• The provisions allowed the government to arrest an individual for online posts that are maligning and offensive. It was introduced in 2008.

• The police were given powers to arrest based on their discretion. There were no clear cut guidelines for using these provisions as it was subjective.

• The provisions specified that messages sent through digital devices such as mobiles, computers and tablets could be punished with a maximum term of 3 years.

Criticism

• The word ‘offensive’ was used in the law. There was no clear definition of what could qualify as ‘offensive’. It was open to interpretation and misuse.

• It was seen as subjective, which allowed individuals to be targeted based on the interpretation by another person.

Shreya Singhal case

• The issue came to notice of Supreme Court when two girls were arrested in Maharashtra for critiquing shutdown of Mumbai for funeral of Balasaheb Thackeray.

• A law student, Shreya Singhal had filed a case in Supreme Court opposing the provisions under the law. Further petitions were filed by other affected individuals.

Grounds for challenge

• The law was made to prevent misuse of digital platforms to spread hate and malign image of people. It was however wide for misinterpretations.

• Petitioners had argued that the law was used for choking free speech through online platforms. It was said to be a tool to curtail freedom of expression.

Supreme Court decision

• A bench of Supreme Court said that Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000 was unconstitutional for violating Article 19(1) (A) and Article 19(2).

• The court also made key rules for partnership between social media platforms and government under Section 79.