The Class XI student, who was arrested for posting an ‘objectionable’ comment attributed to State Minority Welfare Minister, Mohammad Azam Khan, expressed his gratitude to the Supreme Court for scrapping Section 66 A of the IT Act. Dalit writer Kanwal Bharti, who was also arrested by Rampur police for his Facebook post against Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav and Azam Khan, also welcomed the court decision.
“I am very happy and grateful to the SC for scrapping it. I was under a lot of mental stress due to this. I wish that other Sections on me are also removed,” the boy Vicky Khan said while talking to reporters in Bareilly on Tuesday. “I was very afraid of the three years jail term in the section, he said amid celebrations at his home. The SC had earlier issued a notice to the State Government seeking an explanation on the circumstances leading to the arrest of the student.
Azam Khan refused to make any comment on the SC order but blamed the media for supporting “criminals”. “Aap log aparadhiyon ki himayat kartey hain (you support criminals),” he said while talking to reporters on Tuesday. Khan had justified the police action and even went to say in the State Assembly that the arrested youth’s age is 35 and not 19.