"Two girls arrested for a Facebook post. A 21-year-old law student strikes down the dreaded Section 66A."
November 2012, Palghar, Maharashtra. 21-year-old Shaheen Dhada posted a status on Facebook questioning the complete shutdown of Mumbai following a political leader’s demise. Her friend Rinu Srinivasan merely "liked" it. Within hours, both were arrested under Section 66A of the IT Act.
Meet the people behind the landmark battle for digital free expression.
Section 66A criminalized sending any message via computer or phone that was "grossly offensive", "annoying", or "inconvenient", punishable with up to 3 years in prison. Because terms like "offensive" were never defined, police across India used it to arrest cartoonists, activists, journalists, and ordinary citizens for criticizing politicians.
Citizens stopped posting opinions online out of fear of arrest. The vagueness of the section created an intolerable "chilling effect" on free speech.
Senior Advocate Harish Salve and Soli Sorabjee argued for the petitioners, while the Union of India defended the law as necessary for cyberspace regulation.
If you were on the Supreme Court bench, would you strike down Section 66A entirely, or allow the government to fix its vague wording with guidelines?
Consider whether the State can criminalize speech that merely "annoys" or "offends" without incitement to violence.
On 24 March 2015, Justices J. Chelameswar and Rohinton Fali Nariman delivered the historic 120-page judgment striking down Section 66A in its entirety. Justice Nariman drew the crucial distinction between Discussion, Advocacy, and Incitement: free speech only loses constitutional protection when it reaches the clear threshold of **incitement**.
Two girls arrested for a Facebook post. A 21-year-old law student strikes down the dreaded Section 66A.
Supreme Court strikes down Section 66A IT Act under Article 19(1)(a).
Supreme Court issues strict directions restraining police from registering FIRs under defunct 66A.
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