New Delhi: The Supreme Court of India on Tuesday examined the Centre’s plea challenging a verdict by the Bombay High Court that struck down the 2023 amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, aimed at regulating allegedly fake or misleading content about the government on social media.

However, the apex court refused to stay the High Court’s September 2024 judgment, which had also declared the amended rules unconstitutional.

A three-judge bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices R Mahadevan and Joymalya Bagchi issued notices to the original petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India and the Association of Indian Magazines.

While declining to stay the High Court verdict, the Chief Justice observed that it would be preferable for the issue to be finally decided after a detailed hearing.

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The Bombay High Court had, on September 26, 2024, formally struck down the amended IT Rules that sought to identify and regulate social media content considered fake or misleading in relation to government activities.

During the hearing, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, urged the court to stay the High Court’s order. He argued that the government did not intend to completely block content but aimed to regulate the spread of misinformation.

The contentious amendments were introduced by the Union government on April 6, 2023, under the IT Rules framework. They proposed the creation of a Fact Check Unit (FCU) tasked with monitoring and flagging content deemed fake or misleading about government business.

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Under the provisions, social media intermediaries would be required to either remove such flagged content or publish a disclaimer, failing which they could face potential legal consequences.

Inputs from agencies