Bombay HC formally strikes down amended IT Rules on fake news; terms them 'unconstitutional'

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The Bombay High Court (HC) on Thursday formally struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules, aimed at identifying and regulating fake and false content on social media against the government. The court termed the amended IT laws as "unconstitutional" while striking them down. The development comes after the third judge's decision on the new IT Rules proposed by the government, news agency PTI reported.

On September 20, a single bench of Bombay HC, comprising Justice A S Chandurkar, had held that the amended rules are "vague and broad" had the potential of causing a "chilling effect" not only on an individual, but also on the social media intermediary.

Justice Chandurkar had given the tie-breaker decision after a division bench of Bombay HC issued a split verdict on the matter earlier this year.

Following his decision, the bench of Justices AS Gadkari and Neela Gokhale of Bombay HC on Thursday pronounced the verdict on a bunch of 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 regulations.

"In view of the majority opinion, the Rule 3 (1) (V) is declared unconstitutional and is struck down. The petitions are accordingly allowed," the court said.

The case had initially been reviewed by a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel, who has now retired, and Neela Gokhale, who delivered a split verdict in January.

Justice Patel had argued that the rules constituted censorship, while Justice Gokhale maintained that they did not significantly impact free speech.

On September 20, Justice Chandurkar aligned his opinion with Justice Patel's, and emphasised on the need to protect citizens' rights to free expression.

One of the controversial aspects of the amended laws was the establishment of a Fact-Checking Unit (FCU), which was designed to flag online content concerning the government that was deemed misleading or false.

The court agreed with the petitioners' claim that the Rules had a chilling effect on fundamental rights.

The amendments were introduced by the Centre on April 6 last year as part of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.

The regulations mandated FCU to monitor and flag any content perceived as fake or misleading related to government activities. If flagged, social media intermediaries could either remove the content or post a disclaimer, risking legal repercussions if they opted for the latter.

(With PTI inputs)