Bombay HC delivers split verdict on pleas challenging government’s fact-checking unit

The Bombay High Court on Wednesday delivered a split verdict on the validity of amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023, that gives the Centre the power to set up a fact-checking unit, Bar and Bench reported.

A bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale pronounced the verdict in the four petitions filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, the Association of Indian Magazines and the News Broadcast and Digital Association.

The petitioners had moved the High Court against the Centre’s decision to amend the information technology rules to allow a government-notified fact-checking unit to tag Union government-related news as “fake news”.

While Patel ruled in favour of the petitioners and struck down the amendments, Gokhale dismissed the pleas.

The matter will now be placed before a three-judge bench as per the rules of the High Court, Live Law reported.

The petitioners had urged the court to set aside the provisions of the amendment, arguing that the rules are arbitrary and unconstitutional. The amendments do not fall within the scope of reasonable restrictions on freedom of speech provided in Article 19(2) of the Constitution, the petitioners said.

They argued that the rules did not have a provision for a showcause notice to be served before action was...

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