Musician TM Krishna moves Madras HC on IT Rules; impinges on right to privacy
Chennai, Jun 10: Popular carnatic music vocalist T M Krishna has moved the Madras High Court challenging the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
The noted culture and political commentator sought the court to declare the new rules ultra vires of the Constitution and the parent Information Technology Act, as these norms, among other things, imposes a "chilling effect" on free speech and are vague and indeterminate.
His petition, which also pleaded for grant of an interim stay on the new rules notified on February 25, 2021 came up before the first bench of Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthilkumar Ramamoorthy for hearing on Thursday.
After hearing initial arguments, the bench directed Krishna's counsel to serve Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan, a copy of the petition for the Centre to file its counter affidavit.
According to the petitioner, winner of the Ramon Magsaysay award in 2016, the new rules breached equality of law, freedom to speech, expression, practise any profession and protection of life and personal liberty, contravening fundamental rights guaranteed in Constitution.
Also, the new rules are ultra vires the IT Act 2000 as well, as no part of that legislation confers power on the Union Ministry of Information to regulate digital news media or online content producers.
Krishna said the new rules offended his right as an artist and cultural commentator by both "imposing a chilling effect on free speech and by impinging on my right to privacy," and sought to declare the new rules null and void.
For him, privacy, like music itself, is an experience and "when I think of privacy, I think of life, intimacy, experience, discovery, security, happiness, the lack of fear and the freedom to create."
The Supreme Court's judgment of 2017 had recognised that the right to privacy was implicit in the guarantee of a right to life and personal liberty under Article 21 of the Constitution.
The apex court had acknowledged the fact that privacy for an artist is a must and there is an artist in every human being. Without privacy it is impossible to create and perform.
The Constitution contains a "commitment to the liberty of imagination. Censorship sans reason offends this commitment. It is in furtherance of my rights to freedom of expression and privacy that I am filing the writ petition."
The impugned rules are vague and indeterminate, would thwart artists from raising difficult questions against existing aesthetic, gender and caste hierarchies in Carnatic music, and would prevent dissenters who question prevailing cultural mores.
A reading of the Code of Ethics makes it impossible to understand what would be considered by the union government as acceptable speech in the online world.
Determining what is acceptable is not the sole prerogative of the government and it ought to be fashioned in accordance with the Constitutional scheme, which the rules fail to do.
Assailing aspects that could restrict speech on "unconstitutional grounds," the petitioner cited for instance, the Inter Departmental Committee.
This panel would be at liberty to recommend to the central government that it found a speech to be offensive and ought to be removed, although the Constitution permitted no such restriction.
The new rules imposed burdens on artists and cultural commentators and critiques, Krishna said.
The case would be heard after four weeks, the bench said. While notifying the rules, the Centre had said these norms, "substantially empower the ordinary users of digital platforms to seek redressal for their grievances and command accountability in case of infringement of their rights."
The new rules have already been challenged in the High Courts of Delhi, Karnataka and Kerala.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
