The Supreme Court on Thursday halted the establishment of a fact-checking unit (FCU) under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to detect false information about it, following notification from the Center one day earlier. This was done in response to worries from civil society organizations and media outlets regarding the unit’s potential misuse for censorship.
Per IT Rules, 2021, the FCU was alerted on Wednesday. The Bombay High Court’s March 11 ruling, which had refused to stop the Center from establishing the FCU in accordance with the modified IT Rules to find fraudulent and misleading information regarding the Central Government on digital media, was overturned by a bench headed by Chief Justice DY Chandrachud. The stay will remain in effect until the Bombay High Court makes a final decision on the challenge to the IT Amendment Rules, 2023, the statement said. “We are of the opinion that questions before the HC deal with core questions on Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution,” the statement stated.
The Bombay High Court’s ruling was challenged in petitions submitted by the Editors Guild of India and stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra, which led to the decision. Lawyer representing Kamra, Darius Khambata, said that it was arbitrary to establish a fact-checking unit for the government but not for others.