No citizen can be prosecuted under scrapped section 66A of IT Act: SC

The Supreme Court Wednesday directed no citizen can be prosecuted under section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, which it had scrapped way back in 2015.

Under the annulled section, a person posting offensive content could be imprisoned for up to three years and also fined.

Underlining that liberty of thought and expression is of “cardinal” significance, the top court had on March 24, 2015 done away with the provision, saying “the public’s right to know is directly affected by Section 66A of the Information Technology Act”.

A bench headed by Chief Justice U U Lalit said in all cases where citizens are facing prosecution for alleged violation of section 66-A of the Act, the reference and reliance upon the said provision shall stand deleted.