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Amazed and shocked that people still being booked under Section 66A of IT Act: SC

Amazed and shocked that people still being booked under Section 66A of IT Act: SC
The Supreme Court has expressed “amazement” and “shock” that people are still being booked under Section 66A of the IT Act.

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Amazed and shocked that people still being booked under Section 66A of IT Act: SC

The Supreme Court has expressed “amazement” and “shock” that people are still being booked under Section 66A of the IT Act, which was scrapped back in 2015.

“Don’t you think this is amazing and shocking? Shreya Singhal judgement is of 2015. It’s really shocking. What is going on is terrible,” the bench told senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, appearing for Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL), an NGO. Parikh said that despite express directions of the court in 2019 that all state governments should sensitize police personnel about the March 24, 2015 judgement, thousands of cases have been registered under the section.




“Yes, we have seen those figures. Don’t worry we will do something,” the bench said. Justice Nariman told Parikh that he should read his dissent verdict in Sabarimala judgement and it is really shocking. Appearing for Centre, Attorney General KK Venugopal said that on perusal of IT Act it can be seen that section 66A features in it and in the footnote one can see it written that the provision has been scrapped. “Now, when a police officer has to register a case, he sees the section and registers the case without going through the footnote. Instead what can be done is that we can put a bracket just after section 66A and mention that it has been scrapped. We can in the footnote put the entire extract of the verdict,” he said. Justice Nariman told him to file a counter in two weeks. “We have issued a notice. List the matter after two weeks.

Hearing a fresh application of PUCL, the top court said that shockingly, despite the order dated February 15, 2019 and steps taken towards compliance thereof, the Applicant discovered that Section 66A of the IT Act has continued to be in use not only within police stations but also in cases before trial courts across India.


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The NGO, on its part, said that in spite of the 2019 order, directing that copies of the judgement of this Court in Shreya Singhal should remain available with every High Court as well as all the District Courts and that the police departments in the entire country be sensitized about the said judgment. It added that facts mentioned state that not only the investigations under Section 66A by the police are continuing but even in the trial courts.

Section 66A of the IT Act was used to punish online communication which is grossly offensive, menacing, or to send communication which the sender “knows to be false to cause annoyance, inconvenience, danger, obstruction, insult, injury, criminal intimidation, enmity, hatred or ill will.”


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