Bombay HC strikes down amended IT Rules; terms them unconstitutional

Bombay High Court strikes down unconstitutional IT Rules identifying fake content against government, supporting freedom of speech.

The Bombay High Court on Friday (September 20, 2024) held as unconstitutional and struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules which sought to identify fake and false content on social media against the government.

The matter was assigned to Justice A S Chandurkar as ‘tie-breaker judge’, after a division bench in January delivered a split verdict on the petitions challenging the amended IT rules.

Justice Chandurkar on Friday (September 20, 2024) held that the rules violated constitutional provisions.

"I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Article 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right to profession) of the Constitution of India," the judge said.

The expression "fake, false and misleading" in the Rules was "vague and hence wrong" in the absence of any definition, he added.

With this ruling, the High Court allowed the petitions filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and others challenging the new rules, including the provision to set up a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) to identify fake or false content about the government.

The petitions against the IT Rules were referred to Justice Chandurkar after a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale delivered a split verdict in January.