Supreme Court strikes down Section 66A of IT Act

Section 66A of the Information Technology Act has been struck down by the Supreme Court for being "unconstitutional and untenable". The apex court delivered the landmark judgement on Tuesday on a petition filed by Shreya Singhal, who sought amendment in Section 66A of the IT Act.

Singhal filed the petition after two girls - Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Srinivasan - were arrested in Palghar in Thane district of Maharashtra as one of them posted a comment against the shutdown in Mumbai following Shiv Sena leader Bal Thackeray's death and the other 'liked' it.

The court said that the section interferes with freedom of speech and expression, adding that the definition for grounds of arrest under the section were vague.

The section had given police powers to arrest anyone for sending offensive messages from mobiles and computers with up to 3 years in jail.