A public interest litigation (PIL) has been moved in the Bombay high court (HC) challenging the recently notified Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, issued under the Information Technology (IT) Act.
The PIL moved by senior journalist Nikhil Wagle has termed the new IT Rules as arbitrary, illegal and contrary to the fundamental rights under Articles 14 (equality before law), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 21 (protection of life and personal liberty) of the Constitution of India and ultra vires the IT Act. The PIL is expected to come up for hearing in due course.
The PIL filed through advocate Abhay Nevagi has stated that the new rules grant excessive powers to the enforcing agencies and put intermediaries under an obligation to provide details of all originators of messages across social media and networking platforms, which is against the fundamental right of privacy of users. The petition has also stated that the rules contradict the principle of net network neutrality which is an accepted principle by all nations, including India.
Another contention in the petition is that the rules are contrary to the IT Act as the rules authorise authorities to take action against the intermediary or service provider for not disclosing the name of the originator in cases of defamation or hurting religious sentiments by booking the intermediary under any of the stringent laws which are in force at the time.
{{/usCountry}}Another contention in the petition is that the rules are contrary to the IT Act as the rules authorise authorities to take action against the intermediary or service provider for not disclosing the name of the originator in cases of defamation or hurting religious sentiments by booking the intermediary under any of the stringent laws which are in force at the time.
{{/usCountry}}The petition stated that such powers vested with the enforcing agency are excessively arbitrary and give them powers which are over and above what has been provided by the IT Act.
“It gives the compliance officers quasi-judicial powers of deciding what is or is not defamatory,” the petition stated.
In light of these contentions, the petition has sought a declaration that the Information Technology Rules, 2021 is illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution and that the rules are ultra vires the provisions of the IT Act, 2000. The petition has also sought a stay on the effect, operation and enforcement of the rules till the matter is decided by the court.