Mumbai, September 20, 2024: In a significant legal victory for free speech, the Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the Centre’s proposed fact-checking unit (FCU). The court ruled that the FCU violated fundamental rights guaranteed under the Indian Constitution.
The decision came in response to a petition filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra challenging the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023, which empowered the union government to establish FCUs for identifying “fake, false, or misleading” content online.
Justice AS Chandurkar, in his judgment, observed that the proposed FCUs were violative of Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution. He criticized the vague and overbroad definition of “fake or false or misleading” content, stating that it lacked clarity and could be used to stifle free speech.
The judge concluded that the rule establishing the FCUs was “ultra vires” the Information Technology Act of 2000 and would have a “chilling effect” on digital intermediaries.
This ruling marks a significant setback for the government’s attempts to regulate online content. It comes eight months after a split verdict in a previous hearing on the same matter, where two judges of the Bombay High Court had disagreed on the constitutionality of the FCU.
In January, the Supreme Court had stayed the government’s notification announcing the operational status of the FCU, pending the Bombay High Court’s decision. The court recognized the potential for censorship and government overreach posed by the proposed unit.
The Bombay High Court’s ruling is a victory for free speech advocates and digital rights activists, who have been raising concerns about the potential for censorship and government control over online content.
