We have an update on the #Sec66A hearings!
In short: S.66A was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2015, but cases are still being filed under that section.
Today, the SC has asked all the States, UTs & HC Registrar-Generals to respond. 1/n
internetfreedom.in/supreme-court-…
In short: S.66A was declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court in 2015, but cases are still being filed under that section.
Today, the SC has asked all the States, UTs & HC Registrar-Generals to respond. 1/n
internetfreedom.in/supreme-court-…
PUCL is one of the foremost civil liberties organisations in the country! They've helped bring about several landmark judgments expanding human rights in India.
They were petitioners in the original 'Shreya Singhal' judgement & have been following up on #Section66A since. 2/n
They were petitioners in the original 'Shreya Singhal' judgement & have been following up on #Section66A since. 2/n
Why, you ask? Because even after the 2015 judgement that struck down #Section66A as unconstitutional, authorities kept registering cases with it!
Don't believe us? Check our tracker 👇🏽
zombietracker.in 3/n
Don't believe us? Check our tracker 👇🏽
zombietracker.in 3/n
In 2019, with legal assistance from IFF, PUCL approached the Supreme Court seeking directions to ensure the implementation of its 2015 decision — the outcome was positive, but (this is the weird part) the #Section66A cases just didn't stop!
It truly was a Zombie section. 4/n
It truly was a Zombie section. 4/n
.@PUCLindia, assisted by IFF, once again approached the court about this in July 2021. As many as 810 cases in 11 states were still pending!
On 14 July '21, the MHA finally issued a notification asking that all pending cases be withdrawn immediately. 5/n
On 14 July '21, the MHA finally issued a notification asking that all pending cases be withdrawn immediately. 5/n
The Union of India, on its part, has tried to shirk a major part of the responsibility by shifting the blame to State Governments as ‘Police’ and ‘Public Order’ are state subjects.
However, the fact that prosecutions under Section 66A continue unabated has not been disputed. 6/n
However, the fact that prosecutions under Section 66A continue unabated has not been disputed. 6/n
In rejoinder, we have suggested several measures to ensure compliance with the #ShreyaSinghal decision.
These include: collecting case details, dropping investigations under 66A, putting a complaint mechanism in place for persons affected by the Section, etc. 7/n
These include: collecting case details, dropping investigations under 66A, putting a complaint mechanism in place for persons affected by the Section, etc. 7/n
Some suggestions for the implementation of important SC decisions in the future were also made by us in the rejoinder, like: publishing the judgements prominently, asking authorities to file compliance affidavits within a reasonable time, and many more. 8/n
We're looking forward to receiving the replies by States, Union Territories and HC Registrar-Generals.
We hope that the matter is resolved soon, since the continued enforcement of #Section66A violates citizens' rights. 9/n
We hope that the matter is resolved soon, since the continued enforcement of #Section66A violates citizens' rights. 9/n
We're grateful to the legal team who worked with us on this, led by Senior Advocate Mr. Sanjay Parikh, @SrikumarSanjana, @VrindaBhandari, @abhinavsekhri10, @TanmayPratapS & @krishnesh78
We're watching out for your rights. Support us and keep us going.
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We're watching out for your rights. Support us and keep us going.
internetfreedom.in/donate/
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