Bombay High Court Refuses To Stay Fact Check Units In Kunal Kamra's Challenge To IT Rules Amendments

The Bombay High Court declined on Monday to halt the establishment of fact-checking units until it can assess the constitutionality of the amendments to the Information Technology Rules, saying that there's no conclusive argument against their notification.

The interim order is based on a preliminary consideration of the issues raised in the petitions.

The verdict specifically revolves around the continuity of the FCUs and the constitutional validity of the regulations guiding their formation. The units were established in accordance with the 2023 amendment to IT Rules and have encountered disputes, including opposition from comedian Kunal Kamra.

Justice AS Chandurkar, acting as the tiebreaker judge, has delivered a judgement on this matter. Earlier, a division bench had given a split verdict on this challenge on Jan. 31, adding complexity to the ongoing legal debate.

The petitioner previously argued that the amendment had a chilling effect on users' expression rights, allowing intermediaries to remove content for self-protection that deviated from user interests.

Additionally, the petitioners claimed that the amendment violated the right to equality by exclusively addressing the central government's concerns and ignoring fake news about non-governmental organisations.

In response, the Union government asserted that intermediaries were not mandated to remove content flagged by the FCUs and could choose to host it, risking safe harbor protection. The government clarified that the units focused solely on factual information rather than ideas and opinions.