New Delhi: The Permanent Mission of India to the United Nations Office has responded to the concerns raised by Special Procedures Branch of the Human Rights Council regarding India’s new IT norms, wherein the Permanent Mission has stressed that India’s democratic credentials are well recognised and the new norms were finalised after due consultation with various stakeholders.
The letter by the Mission said: “The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting undertook broad consultations in 2018 with various stakeholders, including individuals, civil society, industry association and organisations and invited public comments to prepare the draft Rules.”
Thereafter an inter-ministerial meeting had discussed in detail the comments received and, accordingly, the rules were finalised. It also told the UN arm: “India’s democratic credentials are well recognised.”
The right to freedom of speech and expression is guaranteed under the Indian Constitution, the Permanent Mission of India said in its letter, adding the independent judiciary and a robust media are part of India’s democratic structure. “The Permanent Mission of India requests that the enclosed information may be brought to the attention of the concerned Special Rapporteurs,” it said.
