Will the verdict by Supreme Court on striking down Section 66A of Information Technology Act weaken the case against pro-ISIS tweeter Mehdi Masroor Biswas arrested by Bengaluru city police last year?
Mehdi has been booked under Section 66 F of IT Act, 2000 for cyber terrorism and Section 66 A of IT Act, 2000 for posting offensive messages, apart from a host of other sections of Indian Penal Code and Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, 2012.
Cyber law expert Pavan Duggal had told The Hindu that the challenge that the investigators in the case was to prove criminal intent of striking terror in the minds of the people. If the investigators failed to prove the criminal intent, the only section under which he could be convicted was under Section 66 A of IT Act, which has now been struck down by the Supreme Court.
However, the investigators in the case are confident of securing a conviction in the case under Section 66 F of IT Act, 2000 for cyber terrorism. A senior official who led the probe said that the city police will be shortly filing the chargesheet in the case and has secured sufficient evidence to prove his intent and involvement with ISIS fighters through ‘Direct Messages’.
The official also added that if they could not secure a conviction under the IT Act also, they were confident of securing conviction under Section 125 of IPC for ‘aiding to wage a war against a friendly Asiatic power’ and Section 39 of UAPA, 2012 for ‘supporting a terrorist organisation’.
