#AamAadmiParty welcomes Supreme Court judgment on Section 66A of the IT Act

On Mar 24, 2015

The Aam Aadmi Party welcomes decision of the Supreme Court to strike down Section 66A of the IT Act. The court has rightly ruled that the section was violative of our constitutional right to free speech. Restrictions can only be put in place in cases of incitement to violence, not mere “offense and annoyance”. We are happy that the bizarrely implemented Section 66A which had criminalized class XI students and netizens worried about being “annoying” and “inconvenient” has been struck down by the Supreme Court.

Ideally all the political parties should have joined hands to remove this section of the IT Act. It’s sad that despite repeated instances of misuse of this draconian section, political parties failed to build consensus to bring an amendment to the IT Act and the Supreme Court had to intervene.

We congratulate the apex court for defending our fundamental rights, which had been curtailed by both the NDA and the UPA on pretext of securing of public order. We also condemn the two-faced opportunism of the NDA government that spoke out against section 66A while in opposition, only to defend it both in court and in parliament after assuming power.

The Aam Aadmi Party feels proud that it was the only party that stood on the right side in court against the government. AAP will continue to fight for civil liberties through its politics, legal advocacy and street movements, and hopes that the right side wins these constitutional battles every time.

Today’s Supreme Court judgment on Section 66A shows that when it comes down to a showdown between this country’s Aam Aadmi and an opaque irresponsible and unresponsive government: be it the BJP or Congress, the Aam Aadmi will win the battle every time!