Bombay High Court Ruling on IT Rules, 2021

• The Bombay High Court ruled on September 20 that the amended IT Rules, 2021, empowered the Centre to establish a “Fact Check Unit” (FCU) to identify “fake or false or misleading” online content about the government.
• The amendment was challenged by political satirist Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, and the Association of Indian Magazines.
• Justice Atul Sharachchandra Chandurkar delivered the verdict as the “tie-breaker” judge after a division Bench pronounced a split verdict in January, 2024.
• Justice Patel argued that the rules promoted censorship and did not fall within the ambit of reasonable restrictions permitted under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
• Justice Gokhale argued that the rules were intended solely to combat speech and expression beyond those defined under Article 19(2) of the Constitution.
• The Union government is likely to appeal the decision before the Supreme Court.
• Justice Chandurkar ruled that the amended rules were liable to be struck down as they created a “chilling effect” on intermediaries by jeopardising their “safe harbour” protection.
• The ruling will impact the legitimacy of similar fact-checking units established in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka.