SC Stays Central Government’s Fact Check Unit Citing ‘Freedom Of Expression’

A day after the Central Government notified the Fact Check Unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) ‘to deal with the challenge of fake news ‘, the Supreme Court on Thursday (March 21) stayed the notification and The government’s move was rejected which was given green signal by the Bombay High Court.

The Supreme Court said that this case involves big constitutional questions related to the freedom of expression of citizens, which needs to be considered. A bench of Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud, Justice JB Pardiwala and Justice Manoj Mishra said that this matter pertains to freedom of expression. However, the court did not comment on the merits of the case.

The bench said, ‘We believe that the questions coming before the High Court relate to the fundamental questions of Article 19(1)(A) of the Constitution. We are of the view that after the rejection of the application for interim relief, there is a need to stay the notification of March 20, 2024.

Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and the Editors Guild of India had approached the Bombay High Court, seeking directions to the Center to stop setting up a fact check unit.

Provision for Fact Check Unit was made last year

The provision of the fact check unit was part of the amendment to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules) brought by the Center last year.

Under the rules, if this unit finds or is informed about any such posts which are fake, false and which contain misleading facts about the working of the government, then it will flag them to social media intermediaries. Once such a post is flagged, the intermediary has the option to remove it or place a disclaimer. Adopting the second option risks legal action against the mediator.

The petitioners had expressed concerns about censorship, saying that the new rules would restrict users from expressing themselves freely on social media. He had said that social media moderators would simply remove the posts flagged by the government’s fact check unit to avoid legal troubles.

Challenge IT rules

Kunal Kamra also challenged the new IT rules for violating his right to work as a political satirist and expressed his fear of losing his social media access if his content was flagged by the fact check unit. He said the rules would allow the government to flag any content critical of its policies.

The Center had replied that the IT rules were issued in public interest to crack down on fake news. It had also said that the fact check would be based on evidence and such decisions could be challenged in the courts. The Center also said that political opinions, satire and comedy are not related to government work. On this, the petitioners have argued that ‘central government business’ is a ‘vague’ area.

No relief was received from Bombay High Court

On March 11, the Bombay High Court had refused to grant an interim stay on the establishment of the fact-check unit, observing that it would not cause any serious and irreparable harm.

The single-judge bench had said that the petitioners fear that if the Fact Check Unit is notified then political discourse or exchange of information in the form of comments, political satire etc. may be targeted.

However, the Solicitor General has said that the Fact Check Unit is intended only to deal with government business in its strict sense and is not intended to suppress political views, satire or sarcasm.

There was a divided decision

The petitions against the new IT rules were referred to a single-judge bench following a split verdict by a division bench in January, where one judge of the division bench struck down the rules as unconstitutional, while the other upheld them.

Last year, the Center had assured the court that it would not notify the fact check unit till the final verdict on the IT rules, but after the conflicted verdict, the Center said the oral assurance could be extended only till the case is heard by a third judge. .

The petitioners then filed an interim application, seeking a stay on notifying the Fact Check Unit. After not getting any relief from the Bombay High Court, the petitioners had approached the Supreme Court.

Also Read: Delhi Police And Crime Branch Busts Gang Involved In Smuggling Of Fake Cancer Medicines, 12 Arrested