Panel Suggests BNS Amendment For Social Media Defamation, Pg17

Key Highlights:

• A Maharashtra government committee has recommended a state amendment to the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS) to specifically address defamatory social media posts.
• This recommendation comes eleven years after the Supreme Court struck down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act.
• The committee, formed in May 2026, submitted its recommendations to the state Law and Judiciary Department.
• The proposed amendment aims to cover online defamation while incorporating safeguards to prevent misuse, learning from past judicial rulings.

Detailed Insights:

• The committee opted for a state amendment to the BNS, which falls under the Concurrent List, requiring state legislature approval, central vetting, and Presidential assent.
• Amending the Maharashtra Police Act or the central IT Act was considered but dropped due to legal and procedural complexities.
• Section 66A of the IT Act criminalized sending "grossly offensive" or "menacing" electronic messages, leading to widespread criticism regarding free speech.
• In the landmark 2015 case of Shreya Singhal vs Union of India, the Supreme Court declared Section 66A unconstitutional for violating Article 19(1)(a), the right to freedom of speech and expression.
• The court found Section 66A vague and overbroad, failing to distinguish between general offensive speech and speech posing an immediate threat to public safety.
• The new drafting will consider the shortcomings identified by the Supreme Court to ensure the amendment is legally robust.
• The committee, headed by the Director General of Police (DGP), includes secretaries from Law and Judiciary, IT, and Women and Child Development departments.

Key Concepts Involved:

• Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS): The new criminal code in India, replacing the Indian Penal Code, 1860.
• Section 66A of the Information Technology Act: A provision that criminalized offensive online content, struck down by the Supreme Court in 2015.
• Shreya Singhal vs Union of India: The 2015 Supreme Court case that declared Section 66A of the IT Act unconstitutional.
• Concurrent List: A list of subjects in the Seventh Schedule of the Indian Constitution on which both the Union and State governments can legislate.