New Delhi: Supreme Court lawyer Prashant Bhushan on Monday congratulated Kerala government for putting on hold the controversial Kerala Police Act amendment after it triggered a political storm across the country with many describing the law as an assault on freedom of expression and media.

Bhushan in his Twitter post has said that "it is gratifying to learn that there are still some CMs who are sensitive to Independent public opinion." (sic)

Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, in a statement on Monday, said the Kerala Police Act Amendment ordinance will no longer be implemented. He said a detailed discussion will be held in the Assembly on it after which the next course of action will be decided, duly considering the opinions coming up from all quarters.

Bhushan on Sunday had lashed out at the amendments in the Kerala Police Act. He said the law is draconian and bound to be abused to silence dissent. Former Union finance minister P Chidambaram has also expressed unhappiness over the new amendments in the law.

Governor Arif Mohammad Khan had on Saturday signed the Kerala Police Act Amendment ordinance envisaging addition of Section 118-A to prevent cyberattacks against women and children.

The section stipulates either imprisonment for up to five years or a fine of up to Rs 10,000 or both to those who produce, publish or disseminate content through any means of communication with an intention to intimidate, insult or defame any person through social media.

Justifying the move to bring in the ordinance, Vijayan said the government decided to amend the Police Act in an effort to curb widespread malicious campaigns through social media and other platforms which pose a threat to individual freedom and dignity, constitutionally ensured to citizens.

Violent attacks on women and transgenders were evoking a great deal of protests in society. There had been instances in which even the integrity of families has been affected and even driven victims to end their lives by suicide, he said in a statement.

The need for legally tackling this was raised even by the heads of media houses. It was in these circumstances that an amendment to the Kerala Police Act was considered. However, the amendment evoked varied responses from several corners. Apprehensions were aired by those who support the LDF and profess to defend democracy, Vijayan said.

"In these circumstances, the Government of Kerala will not go ahead with implementing the amendment. A detailed discussion will be held in the Assembly regarding this, and the future course of action will be decided upon after duly considering the opinions coming up from all quarters," he said.

'It shows CPM responsive to people's issues'

Meanwhile, CPM general secretary Sitaram Yechury on Monday said the decision of the LDF government in Kerala not to implement a controversial ordinance that sought to give more teeth to police to crackdown on abusive social media posts shows that the party is a vibrant, democratic entity, responsive to the issues raised by people.

"This is an issue on which there has been genuine widespread criticism and as a party, we have taken that into account. The statement from the Kerala chief minister that the ordinance will not be implemented shows that we are a vibrant, democratic party which is open to suggestions. This is the reason why the LDF will be re-elected in the state.

"We have been a party which had opposed section 66A of the IT Act. This has been our consistent position as a party. That is why, in line with this, I had announced that the ordinance will be reconsidered. After this, the procedure for the ordinance to be withdrawn is something that the Kerala government has to answer," Yechury said.

The LDF government is likely to let the ordinance lapse, sources in both the CPM and the CPI said.

The central leadership of the CPM, at odds with the decision, has been exerting pressure on the state leadership to let the ordinance lapse.

(With PTI inputs)