Social network can’t be ignored: Cartoonist

KANPUR: Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi on Tuesday welcomed the Supreme Court judgment holding Section 66A of the IT Act as evil and unconstitutional and said role of social networks in a free society can no longer be ignored.
Trivedi, who had come to see his parents in Rishinagar locality of Shuklaganj in Unnao from Mumbai, said: “Section 66A of the IT Act was unconstitutional and was misused a lot. The judgment will bring back freedom of speech.”
Quoting his case and that of a Mumbai girl who was booked for liking a link questioning ‘bandh’ on Bal Thackeray’s death and most recently in case where a youth was sent to jail for liking an FB page leveling charges against UP minister Azam Khan, Aseem said, “All of us were unnecessarily harassed.”
“Today’s judgment has proved that social networks cannot be ignored.It will also ensure that social media continues to play an important role in nurturing a free and fair society,” he added.
“The overall situation, including governance, in the country is moving from bad to worse. A general sense of hopelessness has prompted me to ‘give brush’ to my emotions, which landed me in jail. I was very saddened that none of the politicians of this country at that point of time try to listen to what I had to say.”
The Supreme Court on Tuesday declared Section 66A of Information Technology Act as unconstitutional and struck it down. This section had been widely misused by police in various states to arrest innocent persons for posting critical comments about social and political issues and political leaders on social networking sites.
His father Ashok Trivedi said, “Truth always prevails. We are happy as Aseem’s efforts have yielded result.”
Cartoonist Aseem Trivedi, was arrested on September 8, 2012 by Mumbai police following a complaint against him filed by a Mumbai-based lawyer at the Bandra Kurla Complex police station in 2012 under the Indian Penal Code’s section 124 (sedition), the Information Technology Act's section 66-A (sending offensive messages through communication services) and the Prevention of Insults to Nation Honour (PINH) Act's section 2 (imprisonment for disrespect to the national flag or the constitution or any part thereof), during the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare here December 2011.