NEW DELHI: A three-judge bench of the Supreme Court today noted that it was 'amazing' and 'shocking' that police are still arresting people under Section 66A of the Information Technology Act that was scrapped by it in 2015 further adding that "Shocking is the right word to use."

Issuing two weeks notice to the centre, a bench of Justices R F Nariman, K M Joseph and B R Gavai has now directed the centre to collect all data and information regarding FIRs and investigations where Section 66A has been invoked as well as the pendency of cases in the courts throughout the country where proceedings under the provision are continuing in violation of the 2015 judgment.

The bench was hearing the matter in a fresh application filed by an NGO, 'People's Union for Civil Liberties' (PUCL) which has said that in utter disregard to the law being quashed in 2015, police across many states have booked many people under Section 66A. 

On 24 March 2015, in case of Shreya Singhal v/s Union of India it was a bench led by justice Nariman and justice J. Chelameshwar that had struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, relating to restrictions on online speech, as unconstitutional on grounds of violating the freedom of speech guaranteed under Article 19(1) (a) of the Constitution of India. 

The PUCL is being represented by senior advocate Sanjay Parikh who told the court that misuse of the scrapped provision was being done despite a 2019 order of the apex court where it had asked the chief secretaries to sensitise police against using the section.

According to PUCL more cases have been filed under Section 66A after the 2015 judgment than before. According to the figures provided by them, Maharashtra, which had registered 349 cases prior to said judgement, registered 381 more FIRs invoking Section 66A after it was scrapped. Similarly, the state of Uttar Pradesh had registered just 22 cases before 2015, but its police across the state had filed 245 more cases after the judgment. 

Likewise in Jharkhand, there were only 43 cases registered before the judgments, but after 2015 about 291 FIRs have been registered after March 2015, while in the state of Rajasthan which had 75 cases earlier, have registered 192 FIRs post-judgment.

During the hearing, Attorney General K K Venugopal said that when a police officer has to register a case, he sees the section and registers the case without going through the footnote. "On perusal of the IT Act it can be seen that section 66A features in it, but in the footnote, it is written that the provision has been scrapped."

On Venugopal's submission, Justice Nariman said, "We will see, you please file counter in two weeks. We have issued a notice. List the matter after two weeks."