SC asks Centre to impress States violating 2015 order: Sec 66A of IT Act

SC took serious view of reported non-compliance by State Governments even after its (SC's) order in 2015 declared registration of FIRs under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act as unconstitutional. The SC bench issued notices to all the states and High Courts, seeking their response over the matter.

New Delhi:The Supreme Court (SC) bench led by Chief Justice UU Lalit asked the Central Government to take remedial measures regarding reported non-compliance by State Governments even after its (SC's) order in 2015 declared registration of FIRs under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act as unconstitutional.

Noting that the matter is extremely serious, the SC bench issued notices to all the states and High Courts, seeking their response over the matter. The apex court advised the Centre to get in touch with the Chief Secretaries of the States concerned where this violation of the court orders was going on. The court further directed the Union to take "remedial measures as soon as possible".

The bench, also comprising Justice Ravindra Bhat, was hearing a petition filed by the NGO Peoples Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) seeking to issue directions to implement the Shreya Singhal vs UOI judgment which had declared Section 66(A) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 unconstitutional back in 2015.

The court was informed today that even after the court declared it unconstitutional, many police officers are still registering cases under section 66(A) of the IT Act. The court also asked Advocate Zohaib Hussain, appearing on behalf of the Union of India, to get in touch with the States and ordered the entire exercise to be finished in 3 weeks. The matter is thus scheduled to be heard three weeks later next.

Section 66(A) of the IT Act granted the power to the government to arrest for "grossly offensive" or "menacing" information shared online. The apex court had struck it down as it violated the fundamental right of speech and expression.