MUMBAI--Minutes after the apex court delivered a landmark verdict holding Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 invalid, Rinu Shrinivasan, one of the two Palghar girls whose arrest sparked a national outcry told The Indian Express that she feels vindicated today.
In November 2012, the two girls hailing from Palghar, which is a little over 100 kms from Mumbai, were arrested by the police for an innocuous post criticising the bandh called in wake of the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray. The two were released on bail on the same day of the arrest. Following a public outcry, the government suspended two policemen.
Subsequently, a PIL was filed by a law student, Shreya Singhal and others challenging the constitutional validity of Section 66A of the IT Act. Speaking from Ahmedabad, where the 24-year-old has gone to shop for her brother’s wedding, Rinu said that people sympathized with her and found her arrest a case of police excess.
During these three years whenever anybody met me they questioned the police action. “Kya zarrorat thi ( what was the need)?,” they used to ask. While Rinu is happy that the apex court has scrapped the law, she says people should be careful while using cyber space.
The Indian Express
