NewDelhi : The Union Home Ministry has issued an order to the states and union territories asking all the police stations in their jurisdiction not to register cases under the repealed Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. The Ministry of Home Affairs has asked the states and union territories to comply with the order issued by the Supreme Court on March 24, 2015, to repeal Section 66A of the IT Act. The Ministry of Home Affairs has also been asked to sensitize law enforcement agencies.
SC has struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000
In the advisory sent by the Ministry of Home Affairs to the states, it has been said that the Supreme Court in its judgment in Shreya Singhal vs Union of India on March 24, 2015, has omitted Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000. It is effective from the date of order, hence no action can be taken under it.
Petition was filed by PUCL
Let us know that a petition was filed by the People’s Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL). It said that even after seven years of the repeal of this section, a total of 745 cases are still pending in the district courts of 11 states till March 2021. The accused in these cases are being tried under Section 66A of the IT Act. To this, the Supreme Court had said that it was surprised to learn that states were using Section 66A of the IT Act to penalize online communication.
On this petition, the Ministry of Home Affairs has issued notice to all the states and union territories. The Ministry of Home Affairs has appealed to the states that if any case has been registered under Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 in the States and Union Territories, then such cases should be withdrawn immediately.
