The government has modified rules under the controversial Section of 66A of the Information Technology Act in the wake of its alleged misuse in recent few cases. This comes a day after a 19-year-old boy was questioned by the police in Palghar over an alleged Facebook post against Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray. This also comes amidst the row over the arrest of two girls in Palghar over a Facebook post on late Shiv Sena founder Bal Thackeray.

The government has issued an advisory to states on how to implement the controversial Section of the IT Act. Government sources say, a prior approval from the Deputy Commissioner or IGP level officers is needed before the Station House Officer can register such complaints. They also say that the Maharashtra incident was not justified.

Meanwhile, the Supreme Court today agreed to hear a PIL filed by a student challenging Section 66 of IT Act. It
said it had been mulling taking suo motu notice over the harassment of citizens.The PIL wants changes in IT Act to bar police from arresting a person without court order for alledged offensive messages online.