The judgment of Shreya
Singhal v. Union of India (24th
March 2015), Writ Petition (Criminal) No.167 Of 2012 (PDF)
is not just about Section 66A but many other sections and rules as
well. For instance, Section 79 of IT Act 2000 and Rule 3 of
Information Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 have
also been analysed by Supreme Court.
As the constitutionality of these provisions was
challenged, Supreme Court had limited choices. Supreme Court
preferred to narrow down these provisions to keep them operational
and constitutional. But it has not been realised at what cost this
has been done.
According to Praveen Dalal, managing partner of ICT
law firm Perry4Law,
Supreme
Court’s Judgment on Section 66A is a big blow for Cyber Law Due
Diligence in India and reading
down of Section 79(3) (b) and Rule 3(4) by Supreme Court in the
present manner is “Counter Productive” in long run. He
has also suggested that Modi
Government must urgently bring suitable Amendments in the IT Act 2000
to tackle growing Cyber Threats and Cyber Crimes in India.
Indian cyber law has never been appropriate since
its inception. Too much stress is given to suppress civil liberties
and enhance e-surveillance. However, it has now reached a stage where
immediate steps must be taken to protect civil
liberties in cyberspace on the one hand and projects like
Digital
India on the other. This is also the high time to leave
politics and do positive things for Indian masses.
