The Supreme Court on Thursday put on hold the Centre’s notification, issued on March 20, setting up its fact-checking unit (FCU) till the Bombay High Court takes a final decision on petitions challenging the 2023 amendment to IT Rules.
A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Misra said the matter concerns freedom of expression. The court, however, stopped short of commenting on the merits of the case.
The bench noted that the pleas challenging the validity of IT Rules raise some grave constitutional questions and its impact on free speech would need to be scrutinised by the Bombay High Court.
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“We are of the considered view that questions before the HC deal with core questions on Article 19(1)(a). Pending adjudication by HC, we desist from dealing on merits that may foreclose assessment by the third learned judge. We are of the view that notification dated March 20, 2024, after rejection of application of interim relief, needs to be stayed,” said CJI Chandrachud.
The Union Electronics and IT Ministry on Wednesday notified the FCU under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) as a statutory body with powers to flag what it believes is false information related to the Central government and its agencies on social media sites.
Earlier, the Bombay High Court had delivered a split decision, with one ordering a stay and the other upholding it. Justice A S Chandurkar, the third judge assigned to give an opinion on the split verdict, is yet to give his final decision. However, after he refused to stay the setting up of the FCU on March 11, the division bench formally pronounced on March 13 that with a 2:1 majority, it would not stay the FCU’s notification.