YEARS
On September 20, a single bench of Justice AS Chandurkar said that the amended rules are vague and broad, which is likely to have a negative impact not only on the individual but also on the social media intermediary. Justice Chandurkar had acted as the tie-breaker judge after a division bench delivered a divided verdict on the case earlier this year.
The Bombay High Court has officially struck down the amended information technology rules aimed at identifying and regulating fake and false content against the government on social media, declaring them unconstitutional. On September 20, a single bench of Justice AS Chandurkar said that the amended rules are vague and broad, which is likely to have a negative impact not only on the individual but also on the social media intermediary. Justice Chandurkar had acted as the tie-breaker judge after a division bench delivered a divided verdict on the case earlier this year.
Following the third judge’s decision, a division bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Neela Gokhale on Thursday issued a formal hearing on petitions filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, Editors Guild of India, News Broadcast and Digital Association and Association of Indian Magazines challenging the new rules. Pronounced the verdict formally. The Court said that in view of the majority opinion, Rule 3 (1) (V) is declared unconstitutional and is struck down. The petitions are accordingly accepted.
The main cause of controversy was the provision to set up a Fact Checking Unit (FCU), aimed at identifying online content considered misleading or false about the government. The court agreed with the petitioners’ claim that these rules had a negative impact on fundamental rights. The Central Government had implemented amendments in the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 on April 6, 2023, in which the provision of ‘FCU’ to flag fake, false or misleading online content related to the government. Was also included.
other news
