Bombay HC Strikes Down IT Rules Amendments

On Friday, the Bombay High Court declared the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology (IT) Rules unconstitutional. These amendments allowed the central government to establish Fact Check Units (FCUs) to identify and counter ‘fake and misleading’ information regarding its functioning on social media platforms.

The tie-breaker bench of Justice Atul Chandurkar stated, “In my opinion, these amendments violate Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution of India.” The case reached a tie-breaker judge after a split verdict by a division bench comprising Justices Gautam Patel and Dr. Neela Gokhale in January 2024.

In 2023, the central government amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021). Rule 3, which granted the Centre the authority to form FCUs for identifying false online news, faced criticism and legal challenges.

The petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, argued that the amendments were ultra vires to Section 79 of the Information Technology Act and violated the right to equality (Article 14) and the right to practice any profession, trade, or business (Article 19(1)(a)(g)) under the Constitution.

In the January 2024 ruling, Justice Patel held that the proposed Fact Check Units directly infringed on fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g) by creating differential treatment between online and print content.

However, Justice Gokhale disagreed, arguing that the amendment to the IT Rules was not unconstitutional. She further noted that the petitioners’ allegations of potential bias were ‘unfounded’ and that there was no restriction on free speech, nor did the amendments imply any punitive consequences for users.

With the tie-breaker judge’s decision, the 2023 amendments were struck down by a 2-1 verdict.