Congress welcomes scrapping of Section 66A of IT Act

The Congress party on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court's decision to strike down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, saying it had an implicit threat of criminal intimidation.

"Delighted that #Sec66A has been scrapped by Supreme Court; it had an implicit threat of criminal intimidation. Free speech reigns supreme," tweeted Congress spokesperson Sanjay Jha.

Congress leader Manish Tewari, meanwhile, welcomed the Supreme Court's move, saying Section 66 A was the antithesis of freedom of speech and expression.

"The Supreme Court made an appropriate decision, Section 66A was the antithesis of freedom of speech and expression. It gave too much power in hands of law enforcement agencies, it's a welcome decision," said Tewari.

Describing the law as 'vague in its entirety' and 'unconstitutional', the Supreme Court earlier in the day struck down the Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, which was introduced in 2000.

The apex court ruled that the section falls outside Article 19(2), which relates to Freedom of Speech, and thus had to be struck down in its entirety.