Abstract

On March 24, 2015, the Supreme Court of India struck down Sec 66A of the Information Technology Act saying it was unconstitutional and violated the fundamental right to freedom of expression. The struck down was a result of public interest litigation which was filed in 2012 in the wake of several incidences where the section was misused to arrest the innocent. The case describes one such incidence in 2012 wherein two girls were arrested for making a Facebook post, protesting shut-down of Mumbai due to demise of a popular political leader.

Learning Objectives

The case is structured to achieve the following Learning Objectives:

• Debate on Section 66 (A) and the possible consequences of its absence.

Keywords

Sec 66(a) ,IT law, Facebook, Freedom of Speech, Social Media