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A single-judge bench of the Bombay high court on Friday set aside the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, which would have allowed the central government to form fact-check units.
Justice AS Chandurkar said the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023, which empowers the Centre to set up fact-check units (FCUs) for identifying fake news online, went against Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.
“I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right to profession) of the Constitution of India,” Justice Chandurkar said, and struck down the proposed IT amendments.
Justice AS Chandurkar’s order breaks the tie of the split verdict given in January by a two-judge bench of the high court regarding the validity of the IT amendment
Set up of FCU
The ministry of electronics and IT attempted to set up a FCU for identifying fake news on the internet as part of the amendments in May 2023.
These amendments sought to grant the FCU authority to label online content related to the government as “fake or misleading” and order intermediaries to take down such content to retain their “safe harbour” or legal immunity against third-party content. Comedian Kunal Kamra petitioned to the Bombay Court against the FCU stating that the new rules announced by the Centre could potentially lead to his content being arbitrarily blocked or his social media accounts being suspended or deactivated. The Editors Guild of India, New Broadcast and Digital Association and Association of Indian Magazines have filed similar petitions in the matter.
Petitioners argued that the FCU could suppress free speech and lead to arbitrary censorship. Kamra’s petition contended that the rules could unjustly restrict his content, infringing on his right to freedom of expression and his profession.
For now, the Centre cannot set up the fact-check unit (FCU) unless it gets a stay on this order from the top Supreme Court.
A detailed order is awaited in the matter.
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