The Kerala government has decided to repeal a three-day-old penal provision against “publishing or disseminating” offensive content, acknowledging the backlash against a law that alarmed free-speech advocates.
The state cabinet decided on Tuesday to forward a repealing ordinance to the governor to withdraw Section 118A from the Kerala Police Act, less than 24 hours after putting it on hold.
The rapid reversal marked a rare moment in which an elected government and a political party responded to a blizzard of criticism and undertook a course correction. The rethink also stood out in sharp contrast with the stubborn manner in which the Narendra Modi government has approached several issues that have distressed many citizens.
The central leadership of the CPM, which heads the Left coalition government in Kerala, is said to have played a decisive role in the dramatic turn of events that sent ripples far beyond the borders of the state.
Senior lawyer Kaleeswaram Raj, a vocal critic of the new law, tweeted expressing happiness at the withdrawal. “Introspection is a democratic virtue. Freedom is non-negotiable. Kerala has shown a fine instance of deliberative democracy,” Raj added.
Section 118A had prescribed up to three years’ jail and a possible fine of Rs 10,000 “for making, expressing, publishing or disseminating any matter which is threatening, abusive, humiliating or defamatory”.
Chief minister and CPM leader Pinarayi Vijayan told a media conference in Thiruvananthapuram on Tuesday: “The government took at face value all the opinions that the amendment would provide excessive powers to the police and it would lead to misuse. Even as doubts and concerns persisted, the government was of the view that it was better to withdraw the amendment.”
Vijayan said the government had chosen the ordinance route to insert the provision because the general public, as also media owners and the Opposition, had been in favour of tackling rising incidents of cyber bullying and fake news targeting, in particular, women and transgender persons. But critics felt that the law was brought in to rein in the media in the middle of two scandals and ahead of the Assembly polls next year.
Asked if the government planned to bring an alternative provision, Vijayan said no law would be introduced without discussions in the Assembly.
CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury had told reporters in Delhi on Monday that the party had “proposed” to the Kerala government that it reconsider the ordinance.
CPM politburo member M.A. Baby told reporters earlier on Tuesday that the “decision to halt the law’s implementation was based on the advice of the party and the LDF (Left Democratic Front).”
The matter had crossed the borders with the Vienna-based International Press Institute, a network of editors and journalists, demanding that the provision be repealed.
The state counsel assured Kerala High Court on Tuesday that the government was “reconsidering” the ordinance and the contentious provision would not be used until further decision by the government.