Mumbai: The Bombay High Court on Thursday reserved its verdict on pleas challenging the amended Information Technology Rules to identify fake and false content on social media concerning the business of the Union government.
The Center, last year, amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 (IT Amendment Rules 2023). Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the IT Rules amendment 2023 empowers the government to establish a Fact check Unit and unilaterally declare online content related to the government's business on social media platforms as fake, false or misleading.
Justice AS Chandurkar reserved the plea for order on Thursday. He heard the matter following a split verdict by a bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale on January 31. Justice Patel struck down the amended rule establishing FCU while Justice Gokhale ruled against the petitioners.
The petitioners concluded their arguments in April, largely contending that the FCUs are meant to bring in total State censorship on anything the government does not want people discussing.
The Central government argued that the FCUs do not intend to curb criticism, satire, fun or even an insult, but are limited to only governmental business. Justice Chandurkar’s judgment would be the deciding judgment by 2:1 ratio.
