oppn parties Sharad Pawar Is Wrong: Section 66A Of The IT Act Was As Draconian As Section 124A Of The IPC

Story Of The Day

Assessee Not Responsible For Ensuring TDS Is Paid To The Government: Delhi HC
OPINIONS : Strongly Expressed

December 21, 2024

People Are Talking About

Rohit Warns Sarfaraz, Police Use It To Warn Two-Wheeler Riders

News Snippets

  • The Indian envoy in Bangladesh was summoned by the country's government over the breach in the Bangladesh mission in Agartala
  • Bank account to soon have 4 nominees each
  • TMC and SP stayed away from the INDIA bloc protest over the Adani issue in the Lok Sabha
  • Delhi HC stops the police from arresting Nadeem Khan over a viral video which the police claimed promoted 'enmity'. Court says 'India's harmony not so fragile'
  • Trafiksol asked to refund IPO money by Sebi on account of alleged fraud
  • Re goes down to 84.76 against the USD but ends flat after RBI intervenes
  • Sin goods like tobacco, cigarettes and soft drinks likely to face 35% GST in the post-compensation cess era
  • Bank credit growth slows to 11% (20.6% last year) with retail oans also showing a slowdown
  • Stock markets continue their winning streak on Tuesday: Sensex jumps 597 points to 80845 and Nifty gains 181 points to 24457
  • Asian junior hockey: Defending champions India enter the finals by beating Malaysia 3-1, to play Pakistan for the title
  • Chess World title match: Ding Liren salvages a sraw in the 7th game which he almost lost
  • Experts speculate whether Ding Liren wants the world title match against D Gukesh to go into tie-break after he let off Gukesh easily in the 5th game
  • Tata Memorial Hospital and AIIMS have severely criticized former cricketer and Congress leader Navjot Singh Sidhu for claiming that his wife fought back cancer with home remedies like haldi, garlic and neem. The hospitals warned the public for not going for such unproven remedies and not delaying treatment as it could prove fatal
  • 3 persons died and scores of policemen wer injured when a survey of a mosque in Sambhal near Bareilly in UP turned violent
  • Bangladesh to review power pacts with Indian companies, including those of the Adani group
D Gukesh is the new chess world champion at 18, the first teen to wear the crown. Capitalizes on an error by Ding Liren to snatch the crown by winning the final game g
oppn parties
Sharad Pawar Is Wrong: Section 66A Of The IT Act Was As Draconian As Section 124A Of The IPC

By Sunil Garodia
First publised on 2022-04-29 10:15:30

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Editor-in-Chief of indiacommentary.com. Current Affairs analyst and political commentator.

Sharad Pawar has submitted an additional affidavit before the Koregaon Bhima inquiry commission suggesting that Section 124A of the IPC (commonly known as the sedition law) be repealed as part of legal reforms and Section 66A of the IT Act be reintroduced to ensure that law enforcing agencies can maintain law and order and prevent riots. While Pawar is correct in suggesting the repeal of Section 124A, he is wrong in demanding the reintroduction of Section 66A simply because that is like taking away an AK-47 from an assassin and handing him an AK-57 instead. Section 124A is, and Section 66A was, draconian and designed to curb dissent and free speech. They are full of poorly defined and ambiguous terms which are misused by the State to charge people with crimes against the state for just holding views that are not in consonance with the views of the ruling dispensation. Both are misused by the Centre and the states regardless of which political party is in power.

India has many draconian laws that are used to curb dissent and free speech. The Unlawful Activity (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Public Safety Act and the National Security Act, 1980 are all designed to do so. The real legal reform will be to amend these Acts to take away the arbitrary power they bestow on the executive to act against the citizen if he dissents against the government. The real legal reform will be to do away with multiple laws on the same subject and introduce a single law which has clearly defined terms and proper checks and balances to prevent the government from using it arbitrarily. Differing with the government is a democratic and constitutional right and as the Supreme Court had observed in Kedar Nath v. the State of Bihar, there exists a very thin line between hatred towards the Government and any legitimate political activity carried by the citizens. It is for this reason that any law that seeks to penalize citizens for holding a contrary view must be fair, not prone to misuse and must clearly define what constitutes an offence that is likely to start riots and/or disturb public peace. 

Other Stories You Make Like

Editorials

Turmoil In Mollywood

Turmoil In Mollywood

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

NDA 3.0: Coalition Dharma

In Depth

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Supreme Court Gets Strict On Child Pornography

Editor's Pick

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions

Budapest Chess Olympiad: India Are World Team Champions
© 2014 India Commentary. All rights reserved.