The Indian government has issued guidelines that state that approval from an officer of DCP level in the rural areas and of IG level in the metros will have to be taken before registering complaints under Section 66 (A) of the IT Act, reports The Hindu. The decision comes right after numerous incidents of the misuse of the act being reported in past few weeks. The government claims that the implementation of these regulations will prevent the misuse of the IT Act. Meanwhile, in another development, the Indian Supreme Court has also admitted a PIL (Public Interest Litigation) filed by a Delhi student, Shreya Singhal, challenging Section 66A of the IT Act, as reported by The Hindustan Times. The apex court bench, headed by Chief Justice Altamas Kabir, directed the hearing of the PIL. The bench also mentioned that it was considering taking suo motu cognisance of recent incidents and questioned why nobody had challenged the particular provision of the IT Act. The Supreme Court has now asked Attorney General GE Vahanvati to appear before the bench on Friday to clarify the government's position on the PIL. In her plea, Singhal had noted that "the phraseology of Section 66A of the IT Act, 2000 is so wide and vague and incapable of being judged on objective standards, that it is susceptible to wanton abuse and hence falls foul of Article 14, 19 (1)(a) and Article 21 of the Constitution". She has also also sought issue of guidelines, by the apex court, to "reconcile…
