The Supreme Court on Tuesday upheld free speech online as it struck down the "vague" section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, according to TV reports.

The petitioners had described Section 66A as vague and ambiguous and beyond the ambit of article 19 of the Constitution guaranteeing freedom of speech.

The bench of justice J Chelameswar and justice Rohinton Fali Nariman pronounced the verdict which was reserved on February 26, upon the conclusion of the arguments by the petitioners and the central government.

The challenge to the validity of section 66A was raised by Shreya Singhal, following the arrest of two girls - Shaheen Dhada and Rinu Shrinivasan - for posting comments critical of the Mumbai bandh in the wake of the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray.

The hearing saw NGOs Common Cause, People Union for Civil Liberty and individuals including self-exiled Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen joining the challenge which saw a repeat hearing after an earlier hearing by a bench of justice J Chelameswar and justice SA Bobde remained inconclusive.

Broadly, the contention by most of the petitioners was that section 66A was vague which gave ample scope for an arbitrary interpretation and misuse of the provision by police. (Hindustan Times)