Court strikes down IT rules changes allowing Centre to set up Fact Check unit

The Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the 2023 amendments to the IT Rules, which allowed the Central government to establish Fact Check Units to identify and debunk ‘fake and misleading’ information about its functioning on social media platforms.
The tie-breaker bench of Justice Atul Chandurkar said, “I am of the opinion that the amendments are violative of Article 14 and Article 19 of the Constitution of India”. The matter came to the tie-breaker judge after a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Dr Neela Gokhale delivered a split verdict in January 2024.
In 2023, the central government amended the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021). Rule 3, which grants the Centre the authority to form Fact Checlk Units for identifying false online news, faced criticism and legal challenges.
The petitioners, including stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, argued that the amendments were beyond the powers (ultra vires) of Section 79 of the Information Technology Act and violated the right to equality (Article 14) and the freedom to practice any profession, or to carry on any occupation, trade, or business (Article 19(1)(a)(g)) of the Constitution.
In the January 2024 verdict of the Bombay High Court, Justice Patel held that the proposed Fact Check Units directly infringed on fundamental rights under Article 19(1)(g) due to the differential treatment between online and print content.
However, Justice Gokhale, on the other hand, opined that the amendment to the IT Rules was not unconstitutional, also noting that the allegations of possible bias raised by the petitioners were ‘unfounded.’ She further opined that there was no ‘restriction on free speech,’ nor do the amendments suggest any penal consequences for users.
With the tie-breaker judge’s opinion, the 2023 amendments were struck down by a 2-1 verdict.