Full Text: Supreme Court judgment on Section 66A of Information Technology Act, 2000

“Such is the reach of the Section and if it is to withstand the test of constitutionality, the chilling effect on free speech would be total”, Justices J. Chelameswar and R.F. Nariman observed in a 122-page judgment. The section, which had given power to the police to arrest Internet users for posting “offensive content”, failed two major tests - the clear and present danger test and the tendency to create public disorder test. The people’s right to know was directly affected by Section 66A and it clearly affected the right to freedom of speech and expression as enshrined under the Constitution of India, the Court said.