Bombay High Court strikes down Centre's plan to set up Fact-Check Unit
Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has struck down the central government's plan to establish a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023. The decision comes in response to a petition filed by standup comedian Kunal Kamra, challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre's move.
Justice A.S. Chandurkar, delivering the final verdict, declared that the proposed IT Amendment Rules violated key provisions of the Indian Constitution, namely Articles 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression), and 19(1)(g) (right to profession).
“I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Articles 14, 19, and 19(1)(g) of the Constitution of India,” Justice Chandurkar said in his judgment. He further remarked that terms like "fake, false, and misleading" in the IT Rules were "vague" and lacked a clear definition, making them unconstitutional.
This judgment followed a split verdict issued by a division bench of the Bombay High Court in January. The bench, consisting of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale, was divided in their opinions. While Justice Patel ruled that the IT Rules amounted to censorship and struck them down, Justice Gokhale upheld the rules, arguing that they did not pose a "chilling effect" on free speech, as the petitioners had claimed.
The matter was then referred to a third judge, leading to today's decision. The Supreme Court had previously stayed the Centre's notification that would have made the fact-checking unit operational, stating that the government could not proceed until the Bombay High Court ruled on the case.
Kunal Kamra and other petitioners had argued that the amendments posed unreasonable restrictions on freedom of speech and expression. They contended that the provisions would lead to government-led censorship, effectively granting the government unchecked powers to determine what constitutes 'truth' online. The petitioners further claimed that such powers would turn the government into "prosecutor, judge, and executioner" in matters of online content.
With the Bombay High Court’s ruling, the Centre's move to create fact-checking units has been effectively halted, reaffirming the importance of protecting freedom of speech and expression in the digital space.
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Mathura train derailment: All three impacted rail lines fixed, normal traffic resumes
Mathura (PTI): Normal rail traffic between Delhi and Mathura resumed on Friday following the restoration of three tracks two days after a good train derailed in the area, officials said.
The Mathura-Palwal section has four railway lines of which traffic on three was disrupted due to the derailment of 25 wagons of the goods train on Wednesday between Vrindavan and Ajhai stations, they said.
"Traffic on the third line was restored at 10.30 pm on Thursday, while the other two lines were fixed on Friday afternoon and normal traffic was restored on the routes," Prashasti Srivastava, said the divisional commercial manager and public relations officers of Agra in North Central Railway.
"The railways had to either cancel some trains or the route of dozens of trains was diverted," she said earlier on Friday.
Meanwhile, a six-member committee has been formed to probe the cause of the derailment, chief PRO of North Central Railway (Prayagraj) Shashikant Tripathi said.
When asked about any suspected sabotage or terrorism link in the case, the official said things could be ascertained only after the probe is completed.
The derailment had impacted the services of around 30 trains on the route. Nearly 500 workers were deployed to clear the tracks, according to officials.
Divisional Railway Manager, Agra Division, Tej Prakash Agarwal told reporters on Wednesday that traffic on three railway lines was interrupted due to the derailment.
"Twenty-five wagons of the train taking coal to Suratgarh power plant (in Rajasthan) derailed after the Vrindavan yard," Agarwal said, adding that no one was injured in the incident.
While the exact cause of the derailment remains undetermined, officials are not ruling out any possibilities, including sabotage, General Manager of North Central Railway Upendra Chandra Joshi had said.
