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Supreme Court · 2015 · (2015) 5 SCC 1

Shreya Singhal v. Union of India

W.P. (Criminal) No. 167 of 2012 and connected matters

Parties: Shreya Singhal and connected petitioners v. Union of India

Decision: 24 March 2015

Bench: J. Chelameswar J., R.F. Nariman J.

Plain-language summary

The Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 because its vague and overbroad restrictions violated Article 19(1)(a) and were not saved by Article 19(2). It upheld Section 69A and the blocking rules, and read down the intermediary-liability provision in Section 79.

Key holdings

  • Section 66A was declared unconstitutional in its entirety.
  • Discussion and advocacy are protected; incitement may be restricted within Article 19(2).
  • Vague expressions produced an impermissible chilling effect on speech.
  • Section 79 was read down regarding when intermediaries receive legal notice of unlawful content.

Official judgment

This summary is informational. Read and cite the court’s judgment for the authoritative text.

Supreme Court Reports — official judgment
constitutional lawcyber lawarticle 19freedom of speechintermediary liability