SC to hear plea challenging blocking of YouTube channel '4PM' on May 13
New Delhi, May 10 (PTI): The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear a plea seeking quashing of an order blocking YouTube channel '4PM' on May 13.
The apex court on May 5 sought responses from the Centre and others on the plea filed by Sanjay Sharma, the editor of digital news platform '4PM', which has a subscriber base of 73 lakh.
The plea claimed that the blocking was effected by the intermediary pursuant to an undisclosed direction allegedly issued by the Centre citing "vague" grounds of "national security" and "public order".
As per the top court's cause list for May 13, the plea is slated to come up for hearing before a bench of justices B R Gavai and Augustine George Masih.
The plea claimed that the blocking was a "chilling assault on journalistic independence" and the right of public to receive information.
The petition, filed through advocate Talha Abdul Rahman, said no blocking order or underlying complaint was furnished to the petitioner, violating both statutory and constitutional safeguards.
The plea also contended that it was a settled law that the Constitution does not permit blanket removal of content without an opportunity to be heard.
"'National security' and 'public order' are not talismanic invocations to insulate executive action from scrutiny," it said.
The action was not only ultra vires the parent statute, but also strikes at the core of democratic accountability ensured by a free press, the plea said.
"The blocking is a chilling assault on journalistic independence and the right of the public to receive information," it said.
The plea sought a direction to the Centre to produce the order with "reasons" and "records", if any, issued to the intermediary for blocking the channel.
It also sought quashing of Rule 16 of the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.
Rule 16 mandates strict confidentiality regarding all requests, complaints and actions taken under the rule.
The plea also sought striking down and/or reading down Rule 9 of the Blocking Rules, 2009, to mandate issuance of a notice, opportunity of hearing and communication of a copy of the interim order to the originator or creator of the content prior to passing a final order.
It said the petitioner's YouTube channel was blocked without giving any fair opportunity to clarify or justify his case.
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Delhi-bound Air India flight carrying MPs diverted due to snag, Venugopal says it was 'harrowing'
New Delhi (PTI): Senior Congress leader and Chairman of Parliament's Public Accounts Committee K C Venugopal has claimed that an Air India flight carrying him and several other MPs from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi "came frighteningly close to tragedy".
In a statement, the airline said that Air India flight AI2455, flying from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi, was diverted to Chennai on Sunday evening due to a technical issue.
In a post on X on Sunday night, Venugopal said, "Air India flight AI 2455 from Trivandrum to Delhi -- carrying myself, several MPs and hundreds of passengers -- came frighteningly close to tragedy today."
"What began as a delayed departure turned into a harrowing journey. Shortly after take-off, we were hit by unprecedented turbulence. About an hour later, the Captain announced a flight signal fault and diverted to Chennai...
"For nearly two hours, we circled the airport awaiting clearance to land, until a heart-stopping moment during our first attempt -- another aircraft was reportedly on the same runway. In that split second, the Captain's quick decision to pull up saved every life on board. The flight landed safely on the second attempt," he said.
"We were saved by skill and luck. Passenger safety cannot depend on luck. I urge @DGCAIndia and @MoCA_GoI to investigate this incident urgently, fix accountability, and ensure such lapses never happen again," the Congress leader wrote.
Responding to Venugopal on X, Air India said, "We would like to clarify that the diversion to Chennai was precautionary due to a suspected technical issue and poor weather conditions."
"A go-around was instructed by Chennai ATC (air traffic control) during the first attempted landing at Chennai airport, not because of the presence of another aircraft on the runway ... Our pilots are well-trained to handle such situations, and in this case, they followed standard procedures throughout the flight," Air India claimed.
"We understand that such an experience can be unsettling and regret the inconvenience the diversion may have caused to you. However, safety is always our priority," the airline added.
The flight AI2455, operated with an Airbus A320 aircraft, was airborne for more than two hours, according to information available on the flight tracking website Flightradar24.com.
"The flight crew of AI2455 operating from Thiruvananthapuram to Delhi on August 10 made a precautionary diversion to Chennai due to a suspected technical issue and given the weather conditions en route," the airline said in a statement earlier.
Air India said the flight landed safely in Chennai, where the aircraft will undergo the necessary checks.
Alternative arrangements are being made to fly the passengers to their destinations at the earliest, Air India said, and regretted the inconvenience caused.
Details about the number of passengers were not available.
The flight took off a little past 8 pm from Thiruvananthapuram and landed in Chennai at around 10.35 pm, according to Flightradar24.com.
In recent weeks, there have been instances of Air India's aircraft facing technical snags.
