Amid opposition protest, Kerala Governor Arif Mohammed Khan signed the ordinance amending the Kerala Police Law to curb the increasing cyber attacks against women and children.
The congressional-led opposition has opposed the ordinance saying it was a measure designed to muzzle the media that exposed many alleged omissions and commissions recently. Under the latest ordinance, a police officer can suo motu register a case against the accused and arrest him.
Unlike the defamation case (Sections 499 and 500 of the Indian Penal Code) which needs a genuine petitioner, the proposed amendment makes it a recognizable crime and anyone can file a complaint or a police officer can register a suo case. motu against the accused. Many experts have warned that it will be misused and some of the ordinance texts are also covered by the media. Opposition parties previously urged the governor not to consent to the ordinance.
The government had decided to strengthen the Police Act by recommending the addition of Section 118-A. It stipulates a prison sentence of up to five years or a fine of up to 10,000 rupees or both to those who produce, publish or disseminate content through any means of communication with the intention of intimidating, insulting or defameing any person through the networks social.
But the government defended its position by saying that existing laws were not effective in dealing with such crimes. He also noted that the High Court had ordered the Chief Secretary of State and the DGP in May to take effective measures to reduce hate speech and harassment on social media.
“Apprehension in this regard is unfounded. Our sole objective is to stop cyberattacks that pose a great threat to privacy, ”said State Law Minister AK Balan. But the opposition was not convinced.
Also read: Delhi winter will be colder than usual this year
“We agree that cyberbullying of women and children must be contained at any cost. But under the pretext of fighting cybercrime, the government can target journalists who expose many misdeeds. Some of the words of the ordinance reinforce our fear, ”said opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala.
The government has decided to speed up monitoring of the ordinance after three female activists, including voice artist Bhagyalakshmi, abused YouTuber Vijay P Nair last month, who had allegedly made disparaging comments against women through his channel. Youtube. The High Court had detained activists for taking justice into their own hands, but they claimed they had filed a complaint, but the police took no action.
Many cyber and legal experts said that there is enough chance of misusing the new ordinance. “It will do more harm than good. No blogger, online journalist or cyber activist can write about any topic. It can be used to settle scores. The intention is good, but the implementation will be disastrous, ”said legal expert and cyber activist Jiyas Jamal.
.
