Bloggers can be nailed for views

nitesh

Mob Control Manager
Senior Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2009
Messages
7,550
Likes
1,307
Must read be cautious

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/India/Bloggers-can-be-nailed-for-views/articleshow/4178823.cms

Bloggers can be nailed for views
24 Feb 2009, 0158 hrs IST, Dhananjay Mahapatra, TNN


NEW DELHI: A 19-year-old blogger's case could forever change the ground rules of blogging. Bloggers may no longer express their uninhibited views
on everything under the sun, for the Supreme Court said they may face libel and even prosecution for the blog content.

It will no longer be safe to start a blog and invite others to register their raunchy, caustic and even abusive comments on an issue while seeking protection behind the disclaimer — views expressed on the blog are that of the writers.

This chilling warning emerged as a Bench comprising Chief Justice K G Balakrishnan and Justice P Sathasivam refused to protect a 19-year-old Kerala boy, who had started a community on Orkut against Shiv Sena, from protection against summons received from a Maharashtra court on a criminal case filed against him.

Petitioner Ajith D had started a community on Orkut against Shiv Sena. In this community, there were several posts and discussions by anonymous persons who alleged that Shiv Sena was trying to divide the country on region and caste basis.

Reacting to these posts, the Shiv Sena youth wing's state secretary registered a criminal complaint at Thane police station in August 2008 based on which FIR was registered against Ajith under Sections 506 and 295A pertaining to hurting public sentiment.

After getting anticipatory bail from Kerala HC, Ajith moved the Supreme Court through counsel Jogy Scaria seeking quashing of the criminal complaint on the ground that the blog contents were restricted to communication within the community and did not have defamation value. He also pleaded that there was threat to his life if he appeared in a Maharashtra court.

A computer science student, Ajith pleaded that the comments made on the blog were mere exercise of their fundamental right to freedom of expression and speech and could not be treated as an offence by police.

Unimpressed, the Bench said, "We cannot quash criminal proceedings. You are a computer student and you know how many people access internet portals. Hence, if someone files a criminal action on the basis of the content, then you will have to face the case. You have to go before the court and explain your conduct."
 

Rage

DFI TEAM
Senior Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
5,419
Likes
1,001
Very informative...and admonitory. Caution online is the better part of valour. Thanks nitesh
 

A.V.

New Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
6,503
Likes
1,157
thank you nitesh sir its a vital info.
 

Triton

Founding Member
Regular Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
342
Likes
9
nitesh, Thanks for posting such information; this will be an eye opener to many who wander the web with out knowing the consequences.

a must read
 

Rage

DFI TEAM
Senior Member
Joined
Feb 23, 2009
Messages
5,419
Likes
1,001
And in the first such case against a top-level politician - and not even strictly for his "views"...

EC cracks whip on minister's blog in Karnataka

9 Mar 2009, 1910 hrs IST, PTI


BANGALORE: The Election Commission in Karnataka has cracked the whip on state home minister V S Acharya's blog in the police department's official website on the grounds that it violated model code of conduct.

Chief Electoral Officer M N Vidyashankar said the blog has been removed, contending that listing of a minister's personal achievements in any official website of a government department is not allowed.

The EC has also barred government from placing advertisements on government's achievements at taxpayers' expense. "Advertisements cannot be released at the state's cost", Vidyashankar said. "We have rejected a number of proposals (in this regard)".

He said the EC has received intelligence inputs suggesting "saree distribution was going to begin shortly in a big way. Some people are active to entice voters in the elections" in and around Bangalore, he added.


http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...ers-blog-in-Karnataka/articleshow/4246427.cms
 

screwterrorists

Founding Member
Regular Member
Joined
Feb 16, 2009
Messages
76
Likes
1
Saw the news before and my reaction is still the same: WTF!

I will say what I want and when I want because that is the right God gave me.
If people should choose to listen, they shall. If not, oh well.

Now if I was spilling country secrets or something thats different.

Otherwise,
I find this appalling.

Please excuse my strong reactions.
:angry:
 

shiv

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 4, 2009
Messages
326
Likes
47
i second that screwterrorist......it is our fundamental right to express our views...dont politicians go on stage and abuse other parties and opponents,why dont these SC guys move a conjunction against them????
 

saffron

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
29
Likes
0
it is our fundamental right to express our views.
Actually no, as far as I know, the Indian constitution does not protect absolute freedom of speech. It has, what it calls, 'reasonable restrictions' on the freedom of expression. Thus, it becomes open to interpretations (and abuse).
 

Antimony

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
487
Likes
14
Reply to All

Guys,

I realize that we must exercise due caution, but

  1. The Kerala Case: The SC has simply denied a motion to quash the criminal proceedings and has not passed any judgement on blogging itself. I agree that this is not a good thing, but the fellow's arguement was poor and blogging, for now, does not face any censure. All the same, better safe than sorry
  2. The Minister's case: He is a public servant and is required to follow rules and regulations for such. The EC cannot do the same for us

Is there any way to generate public opinion in favour of blogging?
 

saffron

Regular Member
Joined
Aug 18, 2009
Messages
29
Likes
0
Is there any way to generate public opinion in favour of blogging?

This is a broader problem that just blogging. It deals with the freedom of expression in India. Until and unless the constitution protects absolute freedom of expression (as long as it doesn't restrict someone else's fundamental rights) this problem will remain.
 

Antimony

Regular Member
Joined
Mar 30, 2009
Messages
487
Likes
14
For all

Let me go ahead and say this. Right now the freedom to blog is not banned, its simply up in the courts.

If the courts, in their infinite wisdom, do place restrictions on what is one of the last places to express our thoughts freely, well, it would be required of folks residing in India to obey that ruling.

We, who stay outside, do not need to fear that.

If any of my fellow forum mates feel constrained in sharing their views on any matter, I believe it behooves those of us currently not under the jurisdiction of the Indian Courts to carry that message through, regardless of our personal stance on that matter.

I, on my part, will try to do that as long as I feel I legally can.
 

pmaitra

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
33,262
Likes
19,593
Plan to muzzle bloggers sparks outcry

Plan to muzzle bloggers sparks outcry

Atul Thakur, TNN | Mar 10, 2011; Times of India

NEW DELHI: A government proposal seeking to police blogs has come in for severe criticism from legal experts and outraged the online community. The draft rules, drawn up by the government under the Information Technology Amendment Act, 2008, deal with due diligence to be observed by an intermediary.

Under the Act, an 'intermediary' is defined as any entity which on behalf of another receives, stores or transmits any electronic record. Hence, telecom networks, web-hosting and internet service providers, search engines, online payment and auction sites as well as cyber cafes are identified as intermediaries. The draft has strangely included bloggers in the category of intermediaries, setting off the online outcry.

Blogs are clubbed with network service providers as most of them facilitate comment and online discussion and preserve the traffic as an electronic record, but equating them with other intermediaries is like comparing apples with oranges, says Pavan Duggal, advocate in the Supreme Court and an eminent cyber law expert.

'This will curtail the freedom of expression of individual bloggers because as an intermediary they will become responsible for the readers' comments. It technically means that any comment or a reader-posted link on a blog which according to the government is threatening, abusive, objectionable, defamatory, vulgar, racial, among other omnibus categories, will now be considered as the legal responsibility of the blogger," he explains.

Even Google, the host of Blogger, among India's most popular blogging sites, expressed displeasure at the proposal. "Blogs are platforms that empower people to communicate with one another, and we don't believe that an internet middlemen should be held unreasonably liable for content posted by users," a spokesperson told TOI.

Blogs, which are typically maintained and updated by individuals, have showcased their political importance in recent times and the internet community views these rules as a lopsided attempt to curtail an individual's right to expression.

"If individual blogs are an intermediary, then why can't Facebook and Twitter also be classified as such, as they too receive, store and transmit electronic records and facilitate online discussions," retorts the spokesperson of the Centre for Internet and Society (CIS), a Bangalore-based organization, which works on digital pluralism. "These rules will not only bring bloggers and the ISP provider on the same platform, but the due diligence clause will also result in higher power of censorship to the larger player. Imagine your ISP provider blocking your blog because it finds that certain user-comments fit these omnibus terms," the CIS spokesperson added.

Most experts, including Duggal, see these rules as the outcome of the government's one-size-fits-all approach — at least in regulating online activities — and ask for an amendment to the IT Act.

Source: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...loggers-sparks-outcry/articleshow/7668026.cms
 

sesha_maruthi27

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
3,963
Likes
1,803
Country flag
So, here after speaking the truth or posting and blogging against the wrong doings of the government will not be tolerated and the person doing so will be charged with I.T. Act.
This is a very coward approach of the GoI. Rather than stopping or punishing the bloggers the GoI should punish the people who are onpenly criticising and also openly making anti-Indian speech in the public. Without punishing those who are openly making anti-India comments like Sayeed Gilani, our Arundati Roy who is trying to become some great socialist, the GoI should not punish the bloggers.
 

venkat

Regular Member
Joined
Apr 6, 2009
Messages
907
Likes
203
we need such policing on defence blogs also..some ppl are exposing everything in order to get maximum hits..
 

The Messiah

Bow Before Me!
Senior Member
Joined
Aug 25, 2010
Messages
10,809
Likes
4,619
Well they will find many anti-govt views in this forum.

but then again they wont since they're inept :lol:
 

Flint

Senior Member
Joined
Mar 10, 2009
Messages
1,622
Likes
163
So much for freedom of speech. We can all stop criticizing China now.
 

mayfair

Senior Member
Joined
Feb 26, 2010
Messages
6,032
Likes
13,109
So much for freedom of speech. We can all stop criticizing China now.
Surely you would love that...

A despicable decision by a despicable government run by a bunch of scallies..guess they are afraid of Barkhagate happening o them.

Tossers, the lot of them!!
 

sandeepdg

Senior Member
Joined
Sep 5, 2009
Messages
2,333
Likes
227
How the hell do they plan to monitor what all posts millions of bloggers are putting up ? A court case can only be filed if somebody on their part brings it to the court's attention, so its all up to who sees what and deems it to irrelevant.
 

sesha_maruthi27

Senior Member
Joined
Aug 15, 2010
Messages
3,963
Likes
1,803
Country flag
:spider:BEWARE, there is some person already in our forum who is spying on us.............

HA ha ha ha............... :pound: :rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao::rotflmao:
 

Global Defence

New threads

Articles

Top