Recently, the Kerala cabinet recommended to the Governor the promulgation of the ordinance to insert Section 118 (A) into the Act.
The government’s recommendation to amend the police act says that if the government finds any media platform including social media producing, publishing or propagating content that could threaten, insult or harm an individual, they will be subject to punishment under section 118A.
The amendment proposes three years in prison and a fine of up to ₹ 10,000 for those found guilty. The state officials said this would give law enforcers more teeth to prosecute the guilty, media houses said the law could be used to gag them.
The Kerala government has been criticised for its new law to criminalise ‘offensive’ posts on social media, with experts as well as the opposition calling it draconian and an attempt to stifle not only dissent but also freedom of speech and expression.
The CPI(M)-led government in Kerala has introduced Section 118A in the Kerala Police Act, via an ordinance, which received the Governor’s assent on.
In 2015, the Supreme Court in the Shreya Singhal case had struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act and Section 118D of the Kerala Police Act, finding both provisions unconstitutionally vague and thus violative of free speech rights. [Article 19].
The new Keralite’s controversial law to curb online abuse has been passed by the state assembly. The intention is good, but the law itself is practically unworkable as it is worded and can be unilaterally misused by anyone.
It empowers police to suo motu interpret and deal with “offensive” communication and make arrests without a warrant.
Though the Kerala government claims it is to fight cyber-crimes against women, that has not found any mention in the law either.