Facing flak, Left Govt puts on hold controversial Kerala Police Act amendment; Cong demands withdrawal

Shortly after CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury announced in New Delhi that the amendment providing for up to five years jail term to those making defamatory social media posts would be reconsidered, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government was not "intending" to implement it now. Further action would be taken after detailed discussions in the assembly and hearing views from various quarters, he said, with the announcement coming amid widespread criticism of the amendment and protests by Congress and BJP state unit chief K Surendran, as also RSP leaders, moving the Kerala High Court, challenging it.

The CPI(M)-led Left front government in Kerala on Monday decided to put on hold a controversial amendment to the Police Act as the law triggered a political storm across the country with many describing the measure as an assault on freedom of expression and media. Shortly after CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechury announced in New Delhi that the amendment providing for up to five years jail term to those making defamatory social media posts would be reconsidered, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said his government was not "intending" to implement it now.

Further action would be taken after detailed discussions in the assembly and hearing views from various quarters, he said, with the announcement coming amid widespread criticism of the amendment and protests by Congress and BJP state unit chief K Surendran, as also RSP leaders, moving the Kerala High Court, challenging it. While the government has said it brought the amendment through an ordinance to check cyberbullying, opposition parties and even Left sympathisers have slammed it, saying it was against the freedom of speech and media.

Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly Ramesh Chennithala dubbed as a "hoax" Vijayan's statement that his government was not intending to implement the act and demanded that it be repealed at the earliest. The ordinance has become a law when it was signed by the Governor and no one, even the Chief Minister, could say that a law would not be implemented once it comes into force.

"So, Vijayan's statement that the amendment would not be enforced is only to deceive people," the Congress leader alleged in a statement, adding that police can still register cases under the section as long as it remains as a law. Sources in the Chief Minister's Office (CMO) told PTI that either the state Cabinet will recommend to the Governor withdrawal of the ordinance or the Home Ministry will issue a direction to Police not to take any action under it.

Supreme Court lawyer and constitutional expert Kaleeswaram Raj said the only way to undo the effect of an ordinance was to withdraw the same by way of another ordinance. "Since the ordinance is notified, the law has come into being. The stand of the government that it will not invokethe ordinance does not have any legal foundation... it should be recalled by a method known to law," he told PTI.

The International Press Institute condemned the ordinance, saying it was a "nasty and diabolical" attempt to muzzle the media in Kerala. Governor Arif Mohammed Khan on Saturday signed the Kerala Police Act Amendment ordinance envisaging addition of Section 118-A to prevent cyber attacks against women and children.

The section stipulates either imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both to those who produce, publish or disseminate content through any means of communication with an intention to intimidate, insult or defame any person through social media. Justifying the move to bring in the ordinance, Vijayan said the government decided to amend the Police Act in an effort to curb widespread malicious campaigns through social media and other platforms which pose a threat to individual freedom and dignity, constitutionally ensured to citizens.

Violent attacks on women and transgenders were evoking a great deal of protests in society. There had been instances in which even the integrity of families has been affected and even driven victims to end their lives by suicide, he said in a statement. The need for legally tackling this was raised even by the heads of media houses. It was in these circumstances that an amendment to the Kerala Police Act was envisaged.

However, the amendment evoked varied responses from several corners. Apprehensions were aired by those who support the LDF and profess to defend democracy, Vijayan said. "In these circumstances, the Government of Kerala will not go ahead with implementing the amendment. A detailed discussion will be held in the Assembly regarding this, and the future course of action will be decided upon after duly considering the opinions coming up from all quarters,"he said.

Before the CMO issued the statement, state Law Minister A K Balan made it clear the government would take all necessary steps to ensure that the law brought with "good intentions" to check cyberbullying was not misused. State Police chief Loknath Behera said a special Standard Operating Procedure (SoP) would be prepared before taking any action under the amendment.

BJP state president K Surendran and RSP leader Shibu Baby John on Monday filed separate pleas in the Kerala High Court, challenging the constitutional validity of the amendment. In his plea, Surendran sought to declare the newly inserted Section 118A in the Kerala Police Act, 2011, as unconstitutional, void and inoperative and to strike it down.

He submitted that the new provisions in the Act "curtails the freedom of speech and expression conferred under the Constitution of India". In their Public Interest Litigations, RSP leaders Shibu Baby John, N K Premachandran and A A Azeez sought to declare Section 118A as unconstitutional since it is "violative of Articles 14, 19 (1) (a) and 21 of the Constitution of India." They submitted that Section 118A suffers from inherent and incurable vagueness.

Earlier, the Congress organised a protest march to the state Secretariat here, which was led by Chennithala, KPCC President, Mullapally Ramachandran and UDF Convenor M M Hassan, among others. Wearing black masks and holding placards, they marched to the secretariat demanding the immediate withdrawal of the act.

In Delhi, Yechury told PTI that "The ordinance will be reconsidered." The central leadership of the CPI(M), at odds with the decision, has been exerting pressure on the state leadership to let the ordinance lapse, party sources said. CPI general secretary D Raja said he was uncomfortable with the ordinance and the party had expressed its opinion on it to the state leadership.

The Vienna-based International Press Institute's India chapter said the Kerala ordinance providing for imprisonment for publishing "any matter which is threatening, abusive, humiliating or defamatory" across all media is perhaps the most serious assault on freedom of expression in decades. In a statement issued by N Ravi, Chairman, Indian National Committee, IPI demanded that the Kerala Governor and the Chief Minister immediately rescind this ordinance which it said was an "unconstitutional and illegal attempt to curtail freedoms guaranteed under the Indian Constitution".

The IPI "condemns and vehemently opposes in the strongest terms, the black ordinance promulgated" in Kerala, which makes "gravest" legalised assault on the freedom of expression and freedom of press,the statement said..