Mumbai:

The central government’s attempt to set up a fact-checking unit has been struck down by the Bombay High Court after standup comic Kunal Kamra filed a petition against the Centre’s move.

Justice AS Chandurkar said the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023, which empowers the Centre to set up fact-check units (FCUs) for identifying fake news online, went against Articles 14 and 19 of the Constitution.

“I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right to profession) of the Constitution of India,” Justice Chandurkar said, and struck down the proposed IT amendments.

The expression “fake, false and misleading” in the IT Rules was “vague and hence wrong” in the absence of any definition, he added.

The case had gone to a third judge after a division bench of the Bombay High Court in January delivered a split verdict in this matter.

The split verdict in January was delivered by a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale. While Justice Patel struck down the Rules, Justice Gokhale upheld them. Justice Patel had said the Rules amounted to censorship, but Justice Gokhale had said they did not have any “chilling effect” on free speech as argued.

It was the third judge’s verdict that came today.

In March, the Supreme Court stayed a notification by the Centre announcing the operational status of its official fact-check unit (FCU). The Supreme Court had said the Centre can’t go ahead until the Bombay High Court decides on the constitutionality of the matter.

Kunal Kamra and other petitioners had said the amendments would put unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression.

The petitioners said the provision would lead to government-led censorship online and empower it to be the “prosecutor, the judge, and in that loose sense, the executioner” of what constitutes the ‘truth’ online.

New Delhi:

The Centre on Wednesday notified the fact check unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to monitor online content pertaining to the government for accuracy.

The fact check unit has been notified under IT Rules of 2021 by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology.

“The central government hereby notifies the Fact Check Unit under the Press Information Bureau of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting as the fact check unit of the Central Government for the purposes of the said sub-clause, in respect of any business of the Central Government,” the notification said.

The Fact Check Unit will be the nodal agency to tackle or alert about all fake news or misinformation related to the central government.

The notification came days after the Bombay High Court declined to restrain the Centre from notifying the unit. The petition was filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and the Editors Guild of India.

The petitioners have moved the Supreme Court against the Bombay High Court verdict and the matter is expected to come up for hearing on Thursday.

In April last year, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (Meity) issued the 2023 Rules, which further amended the Information Technology Rules, 2021.

Under the new rules, if the fact check unit comes across or is informed about any posts that are “fake”, “false” or contain “misleading” facts pertaining to the business of the government, it would flag it to the social media intermediaries.

The online intermediaries would then have to take down such content if they wanted to retain their “safe harbour” (legal immunity against third-party content).

The fact check unit under PIB was established in November 2019 with a stated objective of acting as a deterrent to creators and disseminators of fake news and misinformation.

It also provides people with an easy avenue to report suspicious and questionable information pertaining to the Government of India.

The unit is mandated to counter misinformation on government policies, initiatives and schemes either suo motu or under a reference via complaints.

The unit actively monitors, detects, and counters disinformation campaigns, ensuring that false information about the government is promptly exposed and corrected.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)