In the light of the Supreme Court quashing Section 66A of the IT Act on Tuesday and declaring that the Act was misused, a quick run through some controversial cases.
March 19, 2015: UP Police arrested a Class XI student in Rampur for making offensive remarks against Uttar Pradesh Minister Azam Khan on Facebook.
October 2014: Andhra Pradesh CID arrested a student for posting on social media that the cyclone Hudhud was good as it was nature's way of punishing those who did not vote for the YSR Congress Party.
August 2014: Kerala Police arrested a college student on charges of sedition for allegedly changing some words of an undisclosed patriotic song with abuses in a Facebook post.
May 12, 2014: Remarks on Prime Minister-to-be Narendra Modi on Facebook led to the filing of an FIR on Goa ship-building professional Devu Chodankar.
August 5, 2014: "Abusive" comments about Narendra Modi on Facebook resulted in the arrest of CPI-M worker Rajeesh Kumar in Kerala.
August 6, 2013: Criticising the Uttar Pradesh government for suspending bureaucrat Durga Shakti Nagpal landed poet and writer Kanwal Bharti in jail.
November 18, 2012: Shaheen Dhada and Renu Srinivasan were arrested when one of them questioned the shutting down of Mumbai city for Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray's funeral and the other 'liking' that post.
October 30, 2012: Offensive comments on Twitter about Karti Chidambaram, son of Congress leader and union Finance Minister P. Chidambaram, led to the arrest of Puducherry businessman Ravi Srinivasan.
October 29, 2012: Being tagged on an allegedly blasphemous video on Facebook and one person commenting on it ended in the arrest of three youths from Jammu and Kashmir's Kishtwar district.
September 8, 2012: Aseem Trivedi, a free speech campaigner, was arrested by Mumbai police for mocking parliament and posting cartoons depicting the national emblem by replacing the lions with wolves.
September 2012: Heena Bakshi and Kamalpreet Singh were arrested for allegedly posting abusive comments on the Facebook page of Chandigarh Traffic Police.
May 2012: Mayank Mohan Sharma and K.V.J. Rao, Air India employees, were arrested by Mumbai Crime Cell for allegedly posting vulgar jokes about then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi and other policiticans and disrespecting the national flag.
April 12, 2012: Circulating on internet a cartoon ridiculing West Bengal Chief Minister Mamta Banerjee resulted in the arrest of Jadavpur University professor Ambikesh Mahapatra and Subrata Sengupta.
You’ve reached your limit of {{free_limit}} free articles this month.
Subscribe now for unlimited access.
Already subscribed? Log in
Subscribe to read the full story →
Smart Quarterly
₹900
3 Months
₹300/Month
Smart Essential
₹2,700
1 Year
₹225/Month
Super Saver
₹3,900
2 Years
₹162/Month
Renews automatically, cancel anytime
Here’s what’s included in our digital subscription plans
Exclusive premium stories online
Over 30 premium stories daily, handpicked by our editors


Complimentary Access to The New York Times
News, Games, Cooking, Audio, Wirecutter & The Athletic
Business Standard Epaper
Digital replica of our daily newspaper — with options to read, save, and share


Curated Newsletters
Insights on markets, finance, politics, tech, and more delivered to your inbox
Market Analysis & Investment Insights
In-depth market analysis & insights with access to The Smart Investor


Archives
Repository of articles and publications dating back to 1997
Ad-free Reading
Uninterrupted reading experience with no advertisements


Seamless Access Across All Devices
Access Business Standard across devices — mobile, tablet, or PC, via web or app
