Bombay High Court further defers verdict on validity of amended IT Rules to January 31
The Centre said the Fact Check Unit for online content will not be notified till judgement is passed.
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The Centre told the high court that the FCU, set up to identify fake news related to the government published online, will not be notified until the judgement is passed. (File photo)The Bombay High Court further deferred by two weeks the verdict on a bunch of petitions, including one filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra, challenging the amended IT Rules, which empowered the government to identify ‘fake news’ on social media platforms through its Fact Check Unit (FCU). The judgement will be pronounced on January 31.
The Centre told the high court that the FCU, set up to identify fake news related to the government published online, will not be notified until the judgement is passed. On September 29, 2023, the high court concluded the hearing and reserved its verdict and said the same would be announced on December 1.
On December 1, it said the judgement was not ready and would try to pronounce it by December 11.
Thereafter, the Centre’s lawyer said the court could keep the matter after Christmas vacation and the government’s earlier statement would stand extended till then. The bench agreed and posted the matter to January 5.
On January 5, the bench deferred the date and said it would list the matter for pronouncement of judgement on January 15. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the Centre will continue its earlier statement pertaining to the notification of FCU till then.
Along with Kamra, Editors Guild of India, News Broadcasters and Digital Association, and Association of Indian Magazines have filed their pleas challenging amended IT Rules.
The pleas challenged the constitutional validity of Rule 3(1) (II) (A) and (C) of the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, stating that this would, in effect, amend Rules 3(1) (a) and 3(1) (b) (v) of the IT Rules, 2021, violating several Supreme Court judgments and fundamental rights under the Constitution.
According to the IT rules amended in April last year, content marked by the FCU as “fake or misleading” will have to be taken down by online intermediaries if they wish to retain their “safe harbour” (legal immunity against third-party content).
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