A government official in India has been arrested on February 5, 2013, for posting objectionable content on the social networking site Facebook. The content was posted about Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav and Union minister Kapil Sibal. The reason behind a person’s actions are always a debatable topic and this arrest is no different.
Sanjay Chaudhary, who is a civil engineer, has been booked under the IT Act for uploading defamatory cartoons and posting objectionable comments on the social network. The content was aimed at two Indian leaders. The case that has been registered against Choudhary is also relevant under the sections of IPC (Indian Penal Code).
The civil engineer has been booked for trying to disturb communal harmony by making undesirable comments against a particular community. On the other hand, the engineer has pleaded innocent and claimed that some unscrupulous elements had uploaded the content after hacking his Facebook account.
A similar situation occurred late in 2012, where two girls from Mumbai were detained for writing objectionable content related to the late Balasaheb Thakarey, who was a leader of the Shiv Sena. The arrest of the girls sparked a nationwide protest among civil society activists. The activists had accused the administration of misusing the IT Act.
