Govt to restore IT Act's 66A with suitable changes

Government is working on restoring with "suitable modifications" the controversial Section 66A of Information Technology Act which the Supreme Court struck down in March.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has formed a panel headed by former Law Secretary T K Vishwanathan to examine the implications of the apex court judgement and “suggest restoring of 66A of Information Technology Act 2000 with suitable modifications and safeguards to make it fully compatible with constitutional provisions”, Telecom Minister Ravi Shankar Prasad said in a written reply to Rajya Sabha.

The MHA has asked the panel to suggest alternate legal measures to avoid the possible misuse of social media in the interest of National Security and maintenance of public order.

Unconstitutional
Terming Section 66A of the Information Technology Act “unconstitutional”, the Apex Court said it has a "chilling effect" on freedom of speech and expression. The issue becomes important as many people have been arrested for posting cartoons of politicians or criticising them when the act was in force.