Stand-up comic Kunal Kamra moves HC challenging Centre’s plan to notify fact-checking body

The Narendra Modi-led central government’s plan to notify a fact-checking body empowered to identify and tag what it finds false or fake news on online platforms faces its first challenge in court. On Tuesday, stand-up comic Kunal Kamra moved the Bombay High Court challenging the recent amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021).

Amendments specific to Rule 3 empower the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to notify a fact-checking body empowered to identify and tag what it considers false or fake online news with respect to any activity of the central government.

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Once tagged as fake news, the revised rule, namely Rule 3(1)(b)(v), makes it mandatory for telecom service providers and social media intermediaries to take action against such content or lose the safe harbour protection they enjoy under Section 79 of the IT Act.

During the hearing, a division bench of Justices GS Patel and Neela Gokhale asked the Centre to respond whether there was there any factual background or reasoning applied to make this amendment. “Was there any factual background or reasoning that necessitated the amendment? The petitioner (Kamra) is anticipating some kind of impact due to this amendment,” the bench said, asking the Centre to respond to the plea and posted it for hearing on April 21, reported Bar and Bench.

Kamra’s plea seeks a declaration of rule 3(i)(II)(A), (C) to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Amendment Rules, 2023 as ultra vires section 79 of the Information Technology Act and Article 14 and 19(1)(a), (g) of the Constitution.

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“They strike at the very rule of law and our democratic polity, as they constitute a direct assault by the respondent on freedom of thought, speech and expression, referred to by the Supreme Court as one of the pillars of our Constitution,” it says.

Appearing for the Centre, Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh submitted that no interim order would be required since the amendments to the Rules have not come into effect and sought time to respond.

As per the Centre, the revised amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules of 2021, are aimed at prohibiting the circulation and uploading of news content that has been “fact-checked” by the Press Information Bureau (PIB) as fake.