Online humour, political dissent allowed: Government

NEW DELHI: People cannot be prosecuted for expressing political dissent and posting decent humour material on social networking sites, the Centre told the Supreme Court on Tuesday while placing a compilation of offensive material which could not be allowed as they offended people's sentiments and religious beliefs.

"Political dissent and decent humour cannot be prohibited," additional solicitor general Tushar Mehta told a bench comprising Justices J Chelameswar and R F Nariman.

While placing the compilation, he submitted that it was only for the court's perusal but agreed to give it to the opposite parties when they questioned whether it was a secret government document which could not be shared.

The court was hearing a bunch of petitions challenging Section 66A of the Information Technology Act for its misuse by law enforcing agencies in arresting people for sending offensive messages.