The Supreme Court’s decision to uphold free speech will herald a new phase in the growth and evolution of the internet in India.
Subho Ray, President, The Internet & Mobile Association of India [IAMAI], an industry body which represents the interest of players such as Facebook and Google, said, “The judgment will ensure Internet freedom for users and freedom of doing business on part of intermediaries; thereby ensuring more innovation and investments in the Indian Internet sector.”
Common consensusThe common consensus among users and the industry is that Section 66A was a draconian piece of legislation that was hampering India’s quest to achieve a digital economy.
“The Supreme Court has once again come to the rescue of the Indian citizen,” said Antony Alex, Chief Executive Officer , myLaw.net, an Online Legal Education Platform.
Section 66A was often been misused by governments — often flippantly to muzzle dissent or to stop citizens from posting objectionable materials on social media, said Alex.
R Chandrashekhar, President of IT industry body Nasscom, said, “Internet as a medium is meant to be free and transcend territorial borders with minimal regulation and monitoring.
“The changes enabled by the Supreme Court judgment would provide much needed boost to the citizens of the country and help the objective of a digitally connected India.
Compensation soughtRamasubramnian Kannan, Director (Outreach) at the Centre for Public Affairs and Policy Promotion, believes that the government must compensate those citizens who have subject to harassment under Section 66A.
“It is highly imperative that the law making bodies need to evolve a consultative process before enacting any law or move a piece of legislation in parliament/assemblies to accommodate wide spread citizen's view on any subject, failing which such ill conceived laws will fail the test at the hands of courts,” said Kannan.