Hyderabad: Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao (KTR) on Saturday, September 21 hailed the Bombay High Court verdict on IT rules as victory of free speech.
KTR took to X and said, “Victory for free speech! The Bombay High Court’s verdict in Kunal Kamra vs Union of India is a resounding rejection of censorship.”
“Striking down the unconstitutional IT Rules is a win for democracy and people’s right to question the government without fear. Truth cannot and must not be flagged away,” the Rajanna Sircialla MLA added.
The Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules which sought to identify fake and false content on social media regarding the government. The rule was held unconstitutional.
Being “vague and overbroad”, the amended provision could have a “chilling effect” not only on an individual but also social media intermediaries or platforms, it held.
The landmark ruling was passed by Justice A S Chandurkar who served as a `tie-breaker judge’ after a division (two-member) bench in January 2024 delivered a split verdict. The amended rules violated several constitutional provisions, including Article 14 (right to equality), Article 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and Article 19(1)(g) (freedom to practice any profession), the third judge held.
Rule 3(1)(b)(5) the controversial provision dealing with the establishment of a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) was ultra vires to the Constitution, he added.
Stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, Editors Guild of India, News Broadcast and Digital Association, and Association of Indian Magazines had filed petitions before the Bombay High Court challenging the new regulations.
(With Inputs from PTI)
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