India's top court has asked a local state government to explain the arrest of two women for a comment one of them posted on Facebook, in a case that has sparked nationwide outrage over the misuse of India's Internet laws.
The women were arrested in western Maharashtra state and immediately freed on bail for criticizing the shutdown of India's financial capital Mumbai after the death last week of a powerful rightwing politician. While one woman posted the comment, her friend who "liked" the comment was also arrested.
The Supreme Court on Friday gave the Maharashtra government four weeks to explain the circumstances under which the women were arrested.
The court issued similar notices to two other state governments that critics say abused authority by arresting citizens for social media posts.
