MAINS 2013
GS2
10 marks
Discuss Section 66A of IT Act, with reference to its alleged violation of Article 19 of the Constitution.
WRITE IN
7 min
200 words
What the examiner wants
Discuss why Section 66A was challenged as violating Article 19(1)(a) and how the issue was settled.
DiscussExplain the different sides of the issue, use evidence, and finish with a balanced view.
Demand-wise check
- 1Provision: punished sending 'grossly offensive', 'menacing' or 'annoying' messages online (up to 3 years)≈30 words
- 2Violation: vague terms, not covered by reasonable restrictions under Article 19(2), chilling effect≈30 words
- 3Misuse: arrests for Facebook posts (Palghar 2012), cartoon case (Jadavpur 2012)≈30 words
- 4Resolution: struck down in Shreya Singhal (2015); continued police use flagged later≈30 words
- 5Balance: need for narrow, clear laws on online hate and harassment≈30 words
Open in about 30 words and close in about 30.
Answer plan
Text of 66AArticle 19(1)(a) and 19(2) testMisuse casesShreya SinghalCurrent regime
Where marks usually go
- Not explaining why 19(2) could not save it
- Confusing 66A with Section 69A blocking power, which was upheld
Draw this
- Two columns: 66A terms vs the eight grounds in Article 19(2)
Value addition
- CaseShreya Singhal v Union of India (2015): 66A struck down; only 'incitement', not 'discussion' or 'advocacy', can be restricted.Supreme Court, 2015
- CasePUCL v Union of India (2021-22): Supreme Court directed states to stop registering cases under the struck-down 66A.Supreme Court
Mapped topper copies
Reviewed public-source references related to this PYQ. Same-syllabus references are labelled separately.
- Alfred Thomas · Page 15 ↗Reviewed PYQ reference
- Akash Kumar · AIR 101 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Aditya Srivastava · AIR 1 · Page 29 ↗Same syllabus reference
- Shakti Dubey · AIR 1 · Page 7 ↗Same syllabus reference
Links open original public sources. MainsBuddy does not host these answer sheets.
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