India: Freedom Of Speech Shaken After Orkut Member Arrest
[photo via]
Rahul Krishnakumar Vaid from Gurgaon, Haryana (Pune, India), was arrested today for creating an Orkut community named ?I hate Sonia Gandhi? and posting derogatory content about Congress chief Sonia Gandhi and Mahatma Gandhi
He was arrested not for hating Sonia Gandhi, as this falls under the category of personal opinion which is not an offence, but for creating an online profile and then posting content with vulgar language about her. This apparently is covered by section 292 of Indian Penal Code and section 67 of the Information Technology Act.
Although India is a country of free speech, it seems that for certain “important” individuals such Sonia Gandhi, any negative talk can lead in trouble.
The complain against the forum editor was logged by Amol Bhokare, a Congress activist in December 2007.
Pune police approached Orkut (Google) and found out details of who formed this forum and circulated the vulgar messages.
Vaid will remain in custody till May 21 and if he is found guilty he is eligible for up to to five years in imprisonment and a fine up to 100,000 Rs (1 Lakh).
[via]
Sponsors
Latest posts
