Section 66A of IT Act: Timeline

NEW DELHI: In a landmark judgment upholding freedom of expression, the Supreme Court on Tuesday struck down a provision in the cyber law which provides power to arrest a person for posting allegedly "offensive" content on websites.

According to reports, the apex court ruled that the section falls outside Article 19(2), which relates to Freedom of Speech, and thus has to be struck down in its entirety.

Hailing the Supreme Court's decision to strike down the controversial Section 66A of the IT Act, Shreya Singhal, one of the petitioners in the case, on Tuesday said that no one would fear expressing their opinions online anymore.

The first PIL on the issue was filed in 2012 by law student Shreya Singhal, who sought amendment in Section 66A of the Act, after two girls - Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan - were arrested in Palghar in Thane district as one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death and the other 'liked' it.

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In the wake of numerous complaints of harassment and arrests, the apex court had on May 16, 2013, come out with an advisory that a person, accused of posting objectionable comments on social networking sites, cannot be arrested without police getting permission from senior officers like IG or DCP.

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Section 66A of IT Act: Timeline