Massive fire in south Delhi factory, 34 tenders at spot
New Delhi, May 29: A massive fire broke out in a rubber factory here on Tuesday, and hours later, 34 tenders were still at the spot to douse the blaze, fire officials said.
No casualties have been reported so far in the blaze in south Delhi's Malviya Nagar.
Afire official told IANS that a call reporting the fire near Sant Nirankari School was received at 4.57 p.m. and nearly 25 tenders were rushed to the spot.
Deputy Commissioner of Police, South, Romil Baaniya said that it was found that a truck was being loaded with rubber sheets at the warehouse situated at Khirki Extension area when the vehicle suddenly caught fire and it was also spread to the building, where more rubber sheets were stored.
The officer said that 25 fire tenders reached the spot and the fire was partially brought under control. Later in the evening, more tenders were sent, according to fire services.
A total of 34 tenders are still at the spot as the fire hasn't douted completely.
Baaniya said that there have been no reports of any casualties far and that the reason for the fire was yet to be ascertained.
"The nearby area has been temporarily evacuated for security reasons.
"Efforts are being made to control the fire," he said.
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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.
