New Delhi, November 29
Facing public uproar over arrests made under Section 66 (A) of the IT Act in Maharashtra recently, the government today said that it would be focusing more on the Section and has also issued guidelines for its appropriate use. Section 66 (A) provides for a jail term of up to three years.

Government officials here said that it has already issued guidelines where approval would have to be taken from an officer of the Deputy Commissioner of Police (DCP) level at rural areas and Inspector General (IG) level in metros before registering complaints under the controversial Section.

In two incidents in Palghar in Maharashtra few days after the death of Shiv Sena supremo Bal Thackeray, two girls and a youth were arrested for their Facebook comments. While the girls were arrested for a post criticising the bandh-like situation in Mumbai following Thackeray's death, the boy was arrested yesterday for posting "vulgar" comments against MNS chief Raj Thackeray and the people of Maharashtra on the social networking site.

Senior government officials here said that the new guidelines would make the misuse of the controversial Section difficult. “The concerned police officer or police station may not register any complaint unless he has obtained prior approval at the level of an officer not below the DCP rank in urban and rural areas and IG level in metros,” officials said.