The Left Democratic Front government in Kerala under Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan has received the Governor’s ascent for the controversial amendment to the Kerala Police Act that paves way for punishing individuals with 5 year jail term for ‘offensive’ social media posts.
The newly inserted section 118 (A) of the Kerala Police Act states that “any person creating or sharing a social media post which is offensive or is intended to offend or threaten another person, through any means of communication, is liable to face imprisonment of five years or a fine of ₹10,000 or both.”
The Communist government has claimed that this law is necessary to fight crimes, hate speech fake propaganda on social media. However, this has led to apprehensions that the state could become a North Korea and China using the law for silencing critics of the Communist party and government.
The opposition parties in Kerala have already raised the banner against the draconian move allegeing that this amendment will give more power to the cops and curtail freedom of expression.