The Bombay High Court delivered a split verdict on the petitions challenging the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (IT Rules, 2023), including one filed by stand-up comic Mr. Kunal Kamra. The IT Rules, 2023 empowe the Central government to establish a fact-checking unit (FCU) to identify any 'fake, false or misleading' information about its business on social media platforms.
As per the amended IT Rules, social media intermediaries like 'X' , Instagram' and 'Facebook.' would either have to take down the content or add a disclaimer once the FCU identifies the content on the platform.
The petitioners claimed the two Rules are ultra vires Sections 79 which safeguards intermediaries from action against third-party content and Section 87(2)(z) & (zg) of the IT Act 2000. Further they violated fundamental rights granting citizen 'equal protection under the law' under Article 14 & freedom of speech under Articles 19(1)(a) & 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India.
The division bench, consisting of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale, disagreed on the issue of the IT Rules, 2023 empowering the government's FCU to identify 'fake news' on social media platforms. The central government informed the Bombay High Court that no FCU will be notified until the 3rd judge would take up an interim application for further consideration.
Aside from Mr. Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, the News Broadcasters and Digital Association, and the Association of Indian Magazines have filed pleas challenging the constitutional validity of Rule 3(1) (II) (A) and (C) of the IT Rules, 2023.
Justice Atul S Chandurkar was appointed by the Chief Justice of the Bombay High Court on February 8, 2024 as the third judge for the case.
Originally published 03 April 2024
The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.