Government tells SC its ready to review Sec-66A of IT act

The News Minute| December 18, 2014| 12.17 pm ISTDiffering from its previous position earlier, the Government told the Supreme Court on Wednesday that it was willing to take another look at Sec-66A of the IT Act. The provision, which allows for arrests to be made by the police based on social media posts, is being reviewed by the government to prevent misuse, according to a report in the Indian Express.The government said that it was willing to address concerns relating to the “vagueness” in the provisions of the Act, after the intervention of the PM Narendra Modi.According to the report, the PM has always been for social media citing it as a “powerful medium of social change”. In 2013, he had changed his display picture to black as a mark of protest after the UPA had blocked a few Twitter accounts.“Even the most vociferous of the political dissent would not be attempted to be curbed by way of this legislation. We are willing to take all preemptive steps to negate the chilling effect that Section 66A may have on an individual’s right to speech and expression,” the Additional Solicitor General, Tushar Mehta told the IE. The SC bench of judges has postponed the hearing of the case to January 13.Read more at: Modi intervenes, govt tells SC it’s ready to take relook at Sec 66A