Supreme Court to examine Centre’s plea against Bombay HC verdict on IT rules

The Supreme Court on Tuesday agreed to examine the Centre’s challenge to the verdict of the Bombay High Court, which struck down the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology Rules aimed at regulating fake and misleading content about the government on social media.

However, the apex court refused to stay the 2024 high court judgment that declared the amended rules unconstitutional.

A three-judge bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and comprising Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the original petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines.

While declining to grant an interim stay on the high court ruling, the Chief Justice said it would be preferable for the court to decide the entire matter finally rather than pass interim directions.

The high court, in its September 26, 2024 judgment, struck down the amended rules introduced under the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. It held that the provisions violated the right to freedom of speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India and granted excessive powers to the government through a proposed Fact Check Unit (FCU) to determine what content about its own activities could be considered “fake”.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, sought a stay on the high court’s order. He argued that the government did not intend to block content entirely but only aimed to regulate misinformation related to government functioning.

The contentious amendments were introduced by the Union government on April 6, 2023. They proposed the creation of a Fact Check Unit tasked with monitoring and flagging online content considered fake or misleading in relation to government activities.

Under the rules, social media intermediaries would have been required to either remove such flagged content or attach a disclaimer. Failure to comply could have exposed them to legal consequences.

The Supreme Court will now examine the Centre’s appeal challenging the high court’s decision.