Interpretation and analysis of the judgment of
Supreme Court of India in Shreya
Singhal v. Union of India (24th
March 2015), Writ Petition (Criminal) No.167 Of 2012 (PDF)
has already been started by various cyber law stakeholders of India.
Most of them have based their observations upon Section 66A alone
leaving aside other sections like Section 69A and Section 79 of the
Information Technology Act, 2000.
However, it seems while doing justice to freedom of
speech and expression in India, the Supreme Court has erred
in reading
down Section 79 and Rule 3 of Information
Technology (Intermediaries Guidelines) Rules, 2011 (PDF)
that pertains to Internet Intermediary liability and observance of
cyber
law due diligence (PDF) by them. In fact, it has been
claimed that Supreme Court has killed
cyber law due diligence in India to a great extent.
Cyber
Crimes Investigation Centre of India (CCICI), the premier
cyber crime investigation centre of Perry4Law Organisation (P4LO),
has been covering these issues from the very beginning. Now CCICI has
taken this interpretation and effort to another level by starting an
online petition and survey titled “Do
We Need a Stronger Cyber Law Due Diligence in India?”
Unfortunately, most of the interpretations and
observations regarding the judgment of Supreme Court were directed
towards Section 66A alone and the issue of cyber law due diligence
was totally ignored. This has serious ramifications for all cyber
victims whose locus standi has been taken away by the Supreme Court
to approach the Intermediary.
It is of utmost importance that this issue must be
discussed in great detail and then taken up before the Supreme Court
through a review petition. Similarly, the collective inputs can also
be shared with Indian government and Parliament so that they can come
up with a more potent and effective cyber law due diligence
requirement in India.
If you are a cyber victim or you know a person who
has been a cyber victim, please share your views through this
petition and review. Your views would shape the cyber law of India
and make it more meaningful. If you have ever suffered from
harassment over e-mail, SMS, chatting, Social media, etc or you know
a person who has been so harassed, then please share your views at
the petition/survey page. Collectively let us make a responsible
cyber society and culture in India.
Source: Cyber
Law Blog.
