The law spreads its net

People have been “annoyed and inconvenienced” yet again. And yet again, Section 66 A is back to their rescue by making sure the perpetrators of “information that is grossly offensive or has menacing character” are put behind bars.

In two separate and widely reported incidents, a young professional and a 23-year old student have landed up in trouble because of their alleged anti-Narendra Modi remarks, thanks to Section 66 A.

In the first incident, Devu Chodankar, a shipbuilding professional working in Mumbai, has an FIR issued against him for a post on Facebook in which he allegedly said that Modi would unleash a “holocaust”  if elected. Chodankar subsequently deleted the post, apologising for his choice of words. Apparently the apology wasn’t enough for Atul Pai Kane, a former head of Confederation of Indian Industries in Goa. Kane, a vocal supporter of the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) Chief Minister of state, Manohar Parrikar, lodged a First Information Report (FIR) with the Goa Police’s Cyber Cell. Kane even came up with his own Facebook post to explain his stance:

“Instead of spending time in correcting a wayward youth, people are spending time trying to convince me (read intimidate) to withdraw the case.  “It’s no wonder that getting a conviction in India is so difficult. For all want to side with the offender considering him to be oppressed.”

Acting swiftly on the complaint, the Goa Police said it would organise a probe to ascertain if Chodankar has a “larger game plan to promote communal and social disharmony in the state”.

The FIR against Chadonkar also mentions charges under 153(A), 295(A) of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and Section 125 of the People’s Representation Act in addition to Sec 66 A. Section 153 (A) and 295 (A) of the IPC are essentially hate-speech related legislations – their purpose and place have often been questioned (most recently in the Wendy Doniger and Penguin controversy).

The second incident played out on the popular smartphone messenger, WhatsApp. Sayed Waqar, a 25-year-old MBA student and alleged Aam Aadmi Party activist from Bhatkal, Karnataka was arrested for reportedly circulating a spoof on the Bharatiya Janata Party’s election war cry, Abki Baar Modi Sarkar.  This Waqar had purportedly spoofed to Jeet Paye Jhooton Ka Sardar  – Ab Ki Baar Antim Sanskar.  He used it as a caption for a morphed picture depicting the final rites of Modi being performed. In attendance were L K Advani, Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Baba Ramdev, Maneka Gandhi and Varun Gandhi.

The individual “annoyed and inconvenienced” (this time round) by the spoof was Jayanth Tinekar. Tinekar, incidentally, played an important role as a whistle-blower in the Telgi Scam. This time, following Tinekar’s complaint, Waqar has been booked under Section 66 of the IT Act and Section 505 of the IPC. Section 505 deals with actions of “public mischief”.

While the country has finally voted against “dynasty politics”, it is unfortunate that the remnants of the dynasty’s disdain for any sort of dissent seem very much intact.

Section 66 A of the IT Act is a daft and draconian law. Narendra Modi, the smart tech savvy leader that he is, would do well to do away with it – it doesn’t go well with the change he has promised the country.