No one should be prosecuted under Section 66A of IT Act, says Supreme Court

The court directed states and UTs to direct the police force not to register any complaint under the provision

The Supreme Court on Wednesday said that no citizen should be prosecuted under Section 66A, which was struck down as unconstitutional by it in 2015 in the Shreya Singhal case.

A bench of Chief Justice U U Lalit and Justices S Ravindra Bhat and Ajay Rastogi said it needs no reiteration that Section 66A is found to be in violation of the Constitution and as such no citizen can be prosecuted for violation of alleged offences under Section 66A of the IT Act.

Taking a serious view of the contention that people were still being prosecuted under Section 66A, the court directed the Director General of Police (DGPs) and home secretaries of all state governments and competent officers in union territories to direct the police force not to register any complaint under the provision.

After going through a pan-India status report, the bench said that after Shreya Singhal case, there can be no prosecution in violation of 66A and if reliance is placed on 66A, the same should stand deleted.

Senior advocate Sanjay Parikh, representing the NGO People’s Union for Civil Liberties said that there are cases which are pending.

The bench replied it can say that Section 66A should be removed from such cases.