Facebook comment row: girls' arrest misuse of I-T laws, says Milind Deora

The two Mumbai women arrested for their Facebook post on Mumbai shutdown were booked by the Palghar Police under Section 295 A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) for "deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings or any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs." They were later also charged under Section 505 (2) of the IPC for making "statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes", and the police added Section 66 (A) of the Information Technology Act, which has been severely criticised for being authoritarian and stifling freedom of expression. Minister of State for Information Technology Milind Deora has, however, defended the law. "Question isn't about amending 66A of the IT Act, it's about preventing misuse by the police, who clearly acted in haste and applied wrong," he said.