Supreme Court stays Indian government's notification of Fact Check Unit

India's Supreme Court on Thursday (Mar 21) paused the central government’s March 20 notification to set up a Fact Check Unit (FCU) under the Information Technology (IT) rules till the Bombay High Court delivers a verdict on petitions challenging the 2023 amendment to the IT Rules.

Supreme Court stays FCU

The apex court stayed the Centre’s notification to set up an FCU under the Press Information Bureau (PIB), saying that the challenge to the validity of the unit involves a “serious constitutional question” and its impact on “free speech and expression would need to be analysed by the High Court.”

Add WION as a Preferred Source

Also Read |Lok Sabha polls: Supreme Court dismisses pleas seeking stay on appointment of Election Commissioners

The decision comes a day after the IT ministry notified the FCU under the PIB as a statutory body that would be tasked with flagging what it perceives as fake news related to the Indian government and its agencies on social media.

The bench headed by Chief Justice of India (CJI) DY Chandrachud set aside the March 11 order of the Bombay HC which refused to grant a stay on setting up of the FCU.

“We are of the considered view that questions before the HC deal with core questions on Article 19(1)(a) of the constitution,” the three-judge bench also comprising Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra said in its order.

It added, “We are of the view that notification dated March 20, 2024, after rejection of application of interim relief, needs to be stayed.”

About the petition filed against FCU

The decision by the apex court comes after the Bombay HC declined to stop the Centre from notifying the unit based on the petition filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and the Editors Guild of India.

Senior Advocate Darius Khambata representing the petitioner (Kamra) questioned why is the FCU only for the Centre and not for everyone as an independent body if the objective is to prevent fake news since it affects everybody.

Also Read |Lok Sabha polls | Criminal action done by Modi, Shah: Congress slams BJP over freezing of its bank accounts

Khambata argued that the FCU cannot be dependent on the government’s discretion on what constitutes false or not.

He also noted that with the elections right around the corner, the FCU could be used as a way to control and filter what information reaches out to the voters.

The senior advocate also pointed out that FCU was notified yesterday but was not done for an entire year.

Similarly, lawyers representing the Editor’s Guild stressed that a government-controlled FCU “strikes at the core” of Article 19(1)(a) of the Indian Constitution which guarantees the fundamental right of free speech and expression.

(With inputs from agencies)