Bombay High Court Rejects IT Rule Changes for Fact Check Units, Calls Them Unconstitutional

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has struck down the Centre’s attempt to establish a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023. This decision came after stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra filed a petition challenging the move.

Justice AS Chandurkar ruled that the IT Amendment Rules, which sought to empower the government to identify fake news online, violated Articles 14 and 19 of the Indian Constitution. He stated, “The impugned rules infringe upon the right to equality (Article 14), freedom of speech and expression (Article 19), and the right to profession (Article 19(1)(g)).” The expression “fake, false, and misleading” was deemed vague without proper definition, leading to the rules being struck down.

This decision followed a split verdict in January, where a division bench comprising Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale had conflicting opinions on the matter. Justice Patel had deemed the rules as censorship, while Justice Gokhale did not find them to have a chilling effect on free speech.

In March, the Supreme Court had temporarily halted the Centre’s notification on establishing its FCU, awaiting the Bombay High Court’s ruling on the issue’s constitutionality. Kamra and other petitioners argued that the amendments would lead to government overreach and censorship, restricting free speech online.