Justice A S Chandurkar today heard the matter as a 'tie-breaker judge', after a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale in January delivered a split verdict on the petitions challenging the amended IT rules.

The Bombay High Court has struck down the Centre's amended IT rules that established a fact check unit to flag social media content about its functioning as 'fake, false or misleading'. The court found the unit unconstitutional due to its vagueness and potential chilling effect on free speech and trade.

The Bombay High Court annulled provisions for establishing Fact Checking Units (FCUs) under the Information Technology Amendment Rules, 2023, citing violations of constitutional rights. The decision followed a split verdict in January and was delivered by 'tie-breaker judge' Justice AS Chandurkar.

Bombay High Court strikes down unconstitutional IT Rules identifying fake content against government, supporting freedom of speech.

The Bombay high court has invalidated the amended IT Rules targeting fake news about the government, labeling them unconstitutional. Justice AS Chandu

Mumbai: The Bombay High Court has struck down an attempt by the central government to set up a fact-checking unit. The Bombay HC took the decision on Friday, 20 September 2024 after stand-up comic Kunal Kamra filed a petition against the Centre's move.

The Bombay High Court struck down the 2023 amendments to the IT Rules that empowered the government to flag "fake or misleading" content about its business on social media, declaring them unconstitutional.

The Bombay High Court has ruled that the Central Government's Fact Check Unit rule is unconstitutional, citing its vagueness and potential chilling effect on free speech. The decision follows a split verdict in a previous hearing and may lead to a Supreme Court challenge.

The Bombay High Court struck down amendments to the IT Rules, 2021, which allowed the government to set up Fact Check Units to address false information.

The Bombay HC held it unconstitutional and struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules, which sought to identify fake and false content on social media against the government.

The case was referred to the third judge after a division bench of justice Gautam Patel and justice Neela Gokhale delivered a split verdict on January 31.