Govt issues guidelines to prevent misuse of IT Act

Following the uproar over arrests made under Section 66 (A) of the Information Technology (IT) Act, the government on Thursday issued guidelines that state approval from an officer of deputy commissioner of police level in rural areas and inspector general (IG) level in metros will have to be sought before registering complaints under the section.

Last week, two girls were arrested over a Facebook post criticising the bandh-like situation in Mumbai after Bal Thackeray's death while another boy was arrested yesterday for posting "vulgar" comments against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray and the people of Maharashtra on the social networking site. "... The police officer or police station concerned may not register any complaints unless he has obtained the prior approval at the level of an officer not below the DCP rank in urban and rural areas and IG level in metros," sources said.

The government is confident that once these regulations are put in place, such instances will not be repeated. "There are procedural difficulties faced..., we are going to circulate to all state governments guidelines with regard to registering any complaints under Section 66 (A)," sources said. Section 66 A, a bailable offence, provides for a jail term of up to three years.