The amended act which received the assent of the president on february 5, 2009, contains section 66a. Jun 03, 2016 so to level the field for both resident and nonresident and also to increase the tax revenue, government introduced section 66a through finance act, 2006. Supreme court strikes down section 66a of it act which. The sc said section 66a of the information technology act was violative of article 191a of the constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech and expression. Information technology act 2000 year 2017 judgments. Terming liberty of thought and expression as cardinal, a bench of justices j chelameswar and r f nariman said, the publics right to know is directly affected by section 66a of the. Section 66a of the information technology act the centre.
Key points of sc verdict the court said such a law hit at. Mar 24, 2015 the first pil on the issue was filed in 2012 by a 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 thackerays death and the other liked it. The information technology intermediaries guidelines rules, 2011, as notified on 87 read with subsection 2 of section 79 of the information technology act, 2000 21 of contemporary discourse and practices around internet, technology and society in india, and elsewhere. Explained the government on the other hand will have to issue a notification directing that the section be repealed from the law books. Sections 66a, 67 of it act and section 509 of the indian penal code. The supreme court is examining the constitutional validity of section 66a of the amended indian information technology act, 2000. The supreme court struck down section 66a of the information technology act, 2000, relating to restrictions on online speech, as unconstitutional on grounds of violating. Supreme court judgment in pdf as to scrapping of section 66a in the matter of shreya singhal v union of india 2015 summary. This section was introduced by finance act, 2006 w. Section 66a of finance act, 1994 the reverse charge. He has been booked for defamation and also under section 67 a of the it act. Union of india is a judgement by a twojudge bench of the supreme court of india in 2015, on the issue of online speech and intermediary liability in india.
Judgment day quashing of section 66a of it amendment act 2008. Whoever, intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent, under circumstances violating the privacy of that person, shall be punished with imprisonment which may extend to three years or with fine not exceeding two lakh rupees, or with both. Currently, there are six high court decisions, in which the section has been mentioned or discussed. Between five to six years go to step 9 or every 10 years go to step 10. The dust has barely settled on the controversies over the misuse of section 66a of the information technology act that it seems the police have found ingenuous ways to misuse the laws other provisions. In their order, the court said, section 66a is violative of article 191a, not saved by article 192, hence unconstitutional. Information technology act india pdf information technology. In what is being termed as one of the most landmark judgments upholding the right to free speech in recent times, the supreme court in shreya singhal and ors. Any person who sends, by means of a computer resource or a communication device a any information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character. History of information technology act in india information. A controversial legislative section 66a of it amendment act 2008 was declared as unconstitutional by sc.
An analytical study on offences under it act with special. So to level the field for both resident and nonresident and also to increase the tax revenue, government introduced section 66a through finance act, 2006. For information on keeping your registration active, as well as the optional section 15 filing to enhance the legal strength of your registration, see our video, postregistration issues. Why the court struck down this provision, issues associated and issues over implementation of courts order. However, what has been said about section 66a would apply directly to section 118d of the kerala police act, as causing annoyance in an indecent manner suffers from the same type of vagueness and over breadth, that led to the invalidity of section 66a, and for the reasons given for striking down section 66a, section 118d also violates. Interestingly, many complaints were made before regarding the widespread abuse and misuse of section 66a. Section 66a of the it act talks about sending offensive messages through communication services and a punishment for the same is prescribed in the act. The world has been compelled to sit up and acknowledge the dilemma that the cyberworld proposes. Judgment day quashing of section 66a of it amendment. Latest current affairs in april, 2020 about section 66a. Uncitral model law on international commercial arbitration. Punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc. All you need to know about section 66a of the it act. In and out section 66a and explanation to section 65105.
What the outcry over section 66a of the it act misses is the need for a mechanism to prevent arrests on flimsy interpretations of criminal law provisions. Section 66a and other legal zombies global freedom of. An act to consolidate the representation of the people acts of 1949, 1969, 1977, 1978, and 1980, the electoral registers acts of 1949 and 1953, the elections welsh forms act 1964, part iii of the local government act 1972, sections 6 to 10 of the local government scotland act 1973, the representation of the people armed forces act 1976, the returning officers scotland act 1977, section. India is planning to frame rules to regulate social media citing unimaginable disruption to democracy and the growing menace of fake news. It act 2000 penalties, offences with case studies checkmate. Information technology act 2000 it act indian bare acts at, a website for indian laws and bareacts, the reserve bank of india act, 1934 shall be amended in the manner specified in the fourth schedule to this act. The manner in which courts have handled issues of free speech and access to information, in accordance to section 66a of it act, 2000, does not augur well. This section is also popularly known as reverse charge mechanism. A previous version of this post incorrectly referred to the part of the information technology act that has been overturned as section 66a. Section 66a of the amended indian information technology act, 2000 is all about. While the objective behind the 2008 amendment was to prevent the misuse of information technology, particularly through social media, section 66a comes with extremely wide parameters, which allow.
Online hate community online hate community is created inciting a religious group to act or pass objectionable remarks against a country, national figures etc. Biswaroop mukherjee abstract the genius of the criminal world has been escalating with the ascension of technology. The ruling which is being lauded by the common man and legal luminaries alike, found the. Importance of section 66a in information technology act 2000.
The supreme court sought the centres response to a plea alleging that despite the striking down of draconian section 66a of the it act in 2015 by the apex court, police in various states were still invoking it in firs to clamp down on free speech on social media platforms. Life after section 66a of the information technology act. The supreme court on tuesday struck down section 66a of the it act which allowed arrests for posting offensive content on social media sites. Section 66a, it act 2000,vogue sec, regulator, act2008. Section 66a of the information technology act, 2000 is struck down in its entirety being violative of article 191a and not saved under article 192. The provision is essential for controlling inflammatory content provoking violence. It discusses the section 66 of information technology act, 2000 along with the sweeping changes brought in by the amendment act of 2008 and the cases laws relating to the section 66a 66f. Section 66 a it act information technology act supreme court strikes down sec 66a internet freedom 66a 66a of it act 66 a also read government plans to rework it act to meet new challenges, ravi. Apr 08, 2015 a controversial legislative section 66a of it amendment act 2008 was declared as unconstitutional by sc.
Full text of sc verdict all you need to know about section 66a of it act section 66a quashed. The supreme court has issued notice in an application filed by peoples union for civil liberties pucl, on the continued use of section 66a of the information. A batch of petitions have alleged that the section tramples upon the fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression, and asked that it. But, in the present section 66a, it is limited to those services, which are made taxable, under section 65 105 of the act. What section 66 of indias information technology act. It act judgements, cyber law judgements, cyber case laws. The supreme court sought the centres response to a plea alleging that despite the striking down of draconian section 66a of the it act in 2015 by the apex court, police in various states were still invoking it in firs to clamp down on free speech on social media platforms the petition said a recent working paper by the internet freedom foundation demonstrated that pending prosecutions. Dec 19, 2015 the section 66a of the it act acts as a necessary deterrent against publishing or writing objectionable or grossly offensive contents in cyberspace.
All you need to know about section 66a of the it act the. It is based on the indian penal code, 1860, the indian evidence act, 1872, the bankers books evidence act, 1891, the reserve bank of india act, 1934, etc. Crisp news summaries and articles on current events about section 66a for ibps, banking, upsc, civil services. Mar 24, 2015 section 66 a it act information technology act supreme court strikes down sec 66a internet freedom 66a 66a of it act 66 a also read government plans to rework it act to meet new challenges, ravi. Dec 11, 2012 debate on the validity of section 66a of it. The information technology act, 2000 was amended in 2008. Section 66e in the information technology act, 2000. Section 66a makes up for a significant proportion of reported cyber crimes and arrests made thereunder. Section 66a of finance act, 1994 the reverse charge mechanism.
The main aim if this paper is to prove that the existing laws under section 66 of it act is not sufficient enough to deal with the increasing computer. Recently a pil has been filed in front of supreme court, saying the section 66a of it act is unconstitutional and void on the basis that it violates article 14, 19 1a and article 21 of the constitution. It adds a provision to section 81, which states that the provisions of the act shall have overriding effect. Whoever, intentionally or knowingly captures, publishes or transmits the image of a private area of any person without his or her consent, under circumstances violating the privacy of that person, shall be punished with. But what finally prompted the apex court to announce its verdict on section 66a. Changes that have been made appear in the content and are referenced with annotations. The first pil on the issue was filed in 2012 by a 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 thackerays death and the other liked it. Mar 23, 2015 what the outcry over section 66a of the it act misses is the need for a mechanism to prevent arrests on flimsy interpretations of criminal law provisions. There are changes that may be brought into force at a future date. Education and inspections act 2006, section 66 is up to date with all changes known to be in force on or before 09 may 2020. The section 66a of the it act acts as a necessary deterrent against publishing or writing objectionable or grossly offensive contents in cyberspace. Terming liberty of thought and expression as cardinal, a bench of justices j chelameswar and r f nariman said, the publics right to know is directly affected by section 66a. The controversial provision made posting offensive material on social networking sites an offence punishable by up to three years in jail. The petitioners counsels raised important issues on the validity and constitutionality of section 66a of it act.
Section 66a of the information technology act note. Breaking down section 66a of the it act the centre for. Cases there has been numerous instances application of the section 66a, information technology act, 2000 ita in the lower courts. Section 66a of the information technology act, which prescribes punishment for sending offensive messages through communication service, etc. Section 66a, finance act, 1994 2016 charge of service tax on services received from outside india.
828 1591 342 468 332 79 1208 1576 836 904 1338 1492 296 999 428 949 520 1031 1445 689 563 60 848 554 771 516 117 1355 317 453 815 353 1307