Supreme Court stays proceedings before HCs in matters involving challenges to IT Rules
New Delhi(PTI):The Supreme Court Monday stayed further proceedings before the high courts in matters involving challenges to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021 or Cable TV Networks (Amendment) Rules 2021.
A bench of Justices A M Khanwilkar and A S Oka passed the order while hearing a batch of petitions, including those raising the issue of hate speech and seeking regulations for OTT (Over the top) platforms.
We direct stay of further proceedings pending before the high courts in the respective cases or to be filed hereafter until the next date of hearing involving a challenge to the IT Rules or Cable TV (Amendment) Rules, which are the subject matter of proceedings in these cases, the bench said and posted the matter for hearing on May 19.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the Centre, told the bench that there are several petitions in the matter pending before the apex court.
He said some high courts have stayed the statutory regulations and the Centre has filed special leave petitions (SLPs) against those orders.
Can your lordships consider granting stay so far as transfer petitions are concerned so that no further orders are passed, Mehta said.
The bench also issued notices on the petitions before it in which notices were not yet issued.
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Congress using hijab issue to pacify minority anger, alleges Karnataka LoP R Ashoka
Bengaluru: Leader of Opposition in the Assembly R. Ashoka has accused the Congress government of using the hijab issue to placate what he described as discontent among minority voters after the Davanagere by-election.
In a post on X on Wednesday, Ashoka alleged that the state government, instead of addressing issues such as price rise, corruption, farmers’ distress and law and order, was attempting to retain its minority vote base by reviving the hijab issue.
Referring to the 2022 dress code introduced by the BJP government, which prohibited hijab in schools and colleges, Ashoka said the Karnataka High Court had upheld the policy and emphasised the importance of discipline in educational institutions.
He questioned the Congress government’s move to revisit the issue and asked whether setting aside the court-backed policy to benefit one community could be described as secularism.
Ashoka further alleged that while the government was willing to permit hijab, it continued to prohibit saffron shawls.
He accused the government of dividing students on religious lines rather than treating schools and colleges as spaces of equality.
Drawing a comparison with Mamata Banerjee’s government in West Bengal, Ashoka claimed that excessive appeasement politics had harmed the state and warned that the Congress in Karnataka could face a similar political response.
He said voters in Karnataka would teach the Congress a lesson for what he termed “vote-bank politics” and for compromising constitutional and judicial principles.
