Bombay High Court Overturns IT Rules Granting Central Govt Power to Create Fact Check Unit

The High Court of Bombay has struck down the 2023 amendments to the IT Rules that permitted the central government to create Fact Check Units for identifying and debunking 'fake and misleading' information about its operations on social media.

A tie-breaker bench led by Justice Atul Chandurkar stated, "I am of the opinion that the amendments are violative of Article 14 and Article 19 of the Constitution of India." The matter was referred to the tie-breaker judge after a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Dr. Neela Gokhale issued a split verdict in January 2024.

#BREAKING Bombay HC strikes down IT Rules as per which Central Govt had the power to set up Fact Check Unit in relation to Govt business. https://t.co/PgOJh9oHUu

— Live Law (@LiveLawIndia) September 20, 2024

In 2023, the Indian government amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, specifically targeting Rule 3, which allows the establishment of Fact-Checking Units (FCUs) to identify false online news. This amendment has faced criticism and legal challenges from various petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, who argue that it exceeds the government's authority under Section 79 of the Information Technology Act and infringes upon constitutional rights related to equality and the freedom to practice professions and trades.