The valedictory flag marches around the Supreme Court’s striking down Section 66A of the Information Technology Act greatly exaggerates the immediate benefit that will flow to those with a passion for free speech. While it will surely keep kids who disapprove of traffic stopping political funerals out of jail, it won’t necessarily allow us to celebrate a greater diversity of opinion without serious risk to ourselves. In sum, there may be more deception than deliverance here. Allow me to explain why I say this.
The main thing to understand about Shreya Singhal v Union of India is that it leaps across several oceans to draw inspiration as never before from the American vision of personal liberty (as opposed to the more conservative Indian evolution of it). This means that the Supreme Court is comfortable with the idea that liberty must be valued “both as a means and as an end”; also that “liberty is the secret of happiness and courage the secret of liberty”.
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