The Bombay High Court on Friday (Sep 20) struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules which sought to identify fake and false content on social media against the government by terming it 'unconstitutional'. &nbsp;&nbsp;

The matter was assigned to Justice AS Chandurkar as ‘tie-breaker judge’, after a division bench in January 2024 delivered a split verdict on the petitions challenging the amended IT rules.

Justice Chandurkar on Friday held that the rules violated constitutional provisions.

"I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Article 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right to profession) of the Constitution of India," the judge said.

The expression "fake, false and misleading" in the Rules was "vague and hence wrong" in the absence of any definition, he added.

With this ruling, the High Court allowed the petitions filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and others challenging the new rules, including the provision to set up a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) to identify fake or false content about the government.

The petitions against the IT Rules were referred to Justice Chandurkar after a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale delivered a split verdict in January.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/videos/anti-india-campaign-in-bangladesh-new-delhi-fact-checks-flooding-claim-752465">Watch |&nbsp;Anti-India Campaign in Bangladesh: New Delhi Fact Checks Flooding Claim</a>

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<div class="videoWrapper trancodeVideo"><iframe allowfullscreen="" autoplay="1" class="includeVideo" frameborder="0" height="350" src="https://www.wionews.com/videos/anti-india-campaign-in-bangladesh-new-delhi-fact-checks-flooding-claim-752465/embed" style="width:100%;max-width:560px;" width="560"></iframe></div>
</div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

While Justice Patel struck down the Rules, Justice Gokhale upheld them.

Justice Patel had said the Rules amounted to censorship, but Justice Gokhale had opined they did not have any 'chilling effect' on free speech as argued.

Justice Chandurkar on Friday said he agreed with the opinion given by Justice Patel (now retired).

On April 6, 2023, the Union government promulgated amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including a provision for an FCU to flag fake, false or misleading online content related to the government.

<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/supreme-court-stays-indian-governments-notification-of-fact-check-unit-702602">Also read |&nbsp;Supreme Court stays Indian government's notification of Fact Check Unit</a>

Under the IT Rules, if the FCU comes across any posts that are fake, false, and contain misleading facts about the business of the government, it would flag the same to social media intermediaries.

Once such a post is flagged, the intermediary has the option of either taking down the post or putting a disclaimer on the same.

In taking the second option, the intermediary loses its safe harbour/immunity and stands liable for legal action.

Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

The Bombay High Court on Friday (Sep 20) struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules which sought to identify fake and false content on social media against the government by terming it 'unconstitutional'.

The Bombay High Court on Friday (Sep 20) struck down the amended Information Technology (IT) Rules which sought to identify fake and false content on social media against the government by terming it 'unconstitutional'. The matter was assigned to Justice AS Chandurkar as ‘tie-breaker judge’, after a division bench in January 2024 delivered a split verdict on the petitions challenging the amended IT rules. Justice Chandurkar on Friday held that the rules violated constitutional provisions. "I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Article 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right to profession) of the Constitution of India," the judge said. The expression "fake, false and misleading" in the Rules was "vague and hence wrong" in the absence of any definition, he added. With this ruling, the High Court allowed the petitions filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and others challenging the new rules, including the provision to set up a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) to identify fake or false content about the government. The petitions against the IT Rules were referred to Justice Chandurkar after a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale delivered a split verdict in January. Watch | Anti-India Campaign in Bangladesh: New Delhi Fact Checks Flooding Claim × While Justice Patel struck down the Rules, Justice Gokhale upheld them. Justice Patel had said the Rules amounted to censorship, but Justice Gokhale had opined they did not have any 'chilling effect' on free speech as argued. Justice Chandurkar on Friday said he agreed with the opinion given by Justice Patel (now retired). On April 6, 2023, the Union government promulgated amendments to the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, including a provision for an FCU to flag fake, false or misleading online content related to the government. Also read | Supreme Court stays Indian government's notification of Fact Check Unit Under the IT Rules, if the FCU comes across any posts that are fake, false, and contain misleading facts about the business of the government, it would flag the same to social media intermediaries. Once such a post is flagged, the intermediary has the option of either taking down the post or putting a disclaimer on the same. In taking the second option, the intermediary loses its safe harbour/immunity and stands liable for legal action. Disclaimer: This story has been published from a news agency feed with minimal edits to adhere to WION's style guide. The headline may have been changed to better reflect the content of the story or to make it more suitable for WION audience.

Bombay HC quashes Indian government's bid to establish Fact-Checking Units

The High Court in the Indian city of Calcutta, in a recent ruling, said a man can file a divorce petition if forced to separate from his parents by his wife. This comes after the two-judge bench said that a son living with his parents is “absolutely normal in Indian culture and ethos,” reported Times of India.&nbsp;

The division bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar of the High Court of Calcutta, as per media reports, allowed the filing of an appeal based on mental cruelty if he was forced to stay away from his parents for no genuine reason.&nbsp;

The over-a-decade-old case involved Prashant Kumar Mandal and his wife Jharna who filed for a divorce in 2009, eight years after the couple got married and&nbsp;it was granted by the West Midnapore family court. However, Jharna went on to file an appeal with the High Court challenging the cruel grounds of her divorce decree.&nbsp; 
 
ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/runaway-bride-with-a-bang-woman-fires-gun-at-own-wedding-on-the-run-fearing-arrest-580937">Runaway bride with a bang: Woman fires gun at own wedding, on the run fearing arrest</a>

Additionally, Jharna reportedly had publicly insulted Prashant, calling him “unemployed” and a “coward”, which is what the family court had based their decision on. As per media reports, at the time Prashant was teaching part-time schools as well as conducting private tuitions. However, his income was not sufficient to support the family and asked Jharna who was earning Rs. 1,400 ($17.05) per month to help out, reported the TOI.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-police-officer-places-order-on-e-com-firm-his-details-get-leaked-to-scammers-581276">India: Police officer places order on e-com firm, his details get leaked to scammers</a>

The verdict was announced on March 31, earlier this year, during which the bench also noted that the “Indian culture nurtures the concept of a pious obligation of the son to maintain his parents. If a wife attempts to deviate the son from society’s normal practice and normal custom, she must have some justifiable reason for that.”

It added, “The wife wanted the husband to get separated from his family. It is not common practice for a son in India to get separated from his parents at the instance of the wife,” as per TOI. Therefore, the bench opined that the desire to have a separate residence with her husband and away from her in-laws was not based on “justifiable reasons” and “amounts to cruelty”.&nbsp;

ALSO READ |&nbsp;<a href="https://www.wionews.com/world/virtual-news-presenter-generated-using-artificial-intelligence-for-kuwaiti-media-outlet-581243">Virtual news presenter generated using artificial intelligence for Kuwaiti media outlet</a>

They also went on to call her supposed persistent effort to separate the man from his family “torturous”. “Normally no husband would tolerate such acts of wife, and no son would like to be separated from his parents and other family members,” the bench opined, as per the TOI.&nbsp;

WATCH WION LIVE HERE

<iframe allow="accelerometer; autoplay; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="350" loading="”lazy”" src="https://www.wionews.com/live-tv/embed?autoplay=1&amp;mute=1" width="100%"></iframe>

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us <a href="https://www.wionews.com/content-contribution-registration-form">here</a>.

The High Court in the Indian city of Calcutta, in a recent ruling, said a man can file a divorce petition if forced to separate from his parents by his wife. This comes after the two-judge bench said that a son living with his parents is “absolutely normal in Indian culture and ethos,” reported Times of India.

The High Court in the Indian city of Calcutta, in a recent ruling, said a man can file a divorce petition if forced to separate from his parents by his wife. This comes after the two-judge bench said that a son living with his parents is “absolutely normal in Indian culture and ethos,” reported Times of India. The division bench comprising Justices Soumen Sen and Uday Kumar of the High Court of Calcutta, as per media reports, allowed the filing of an appeal based on mental cruelty if he was forced to stay away from his parents for no genuine reason. The over-a-decade-old case involved Prashant Kumar Mandal and his wife Jharna who filed for a divorce in 2009, eight years after the couple got married and it was granted by the West Midnapore family court. However, Jharna went on to file an appeal with the High Court challenging the cruel grounds of her divorce decree. ALSO READ | Runaway bride with a bang: Woman fires gun at own wedding, on the run fearing arrest Additionally, Jharna reportedly had publicly insulted Prashant, calling him “unemployed” and a “coward”, which is what the family court had based their decision on. As per media reports, at the time Prashant was teaching part-time schools as well as conducting private tuitions. However, his income was not sufficient to support the family and asked Jharna who was earning Rs. 1,400 ($17.05) per month to help out, reported the TOI. ALSO READ | India: Police officer places order on e-com firm, his details get leaked to scammers The verdict was announced on March 31, earlier this year, during which the bench also noted that the “Indian culture nurtures the concept of a pious obligation of the son to maintain his parents. If a wife attempts to deviate the son from society’s normal practice and normal custom, she must have some justifiable reason for that.” It added, “The wife wanted the husband to get separated from his family. It is not common practice for a son in India to get separated from his parents at the instance of the wife,” as per TOI. Therefore, the bench opined that the desire to have a separate residence with her husband and away from her in-laws was not based on “justifiable reasons” and “amounts to cruelty”. ALSO READ | Virtual news presenter generated using artificial intelligence for Kuwaiti media outlet They also went on to call her supposed persistent effort to separate the man from his family “torturous”. “Normally no husband would tolerate such acts of wife, and no son would like to be separated from his parents and other family members,” the bench opined, as per the TOI. WATCH WION LIVE HERE You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

Forcing husband to leave parents is mental cruelty, ground for divorce: Indian court

As the common man struggles, Indian courts are holding the political class to account. 11 High courts have pulled up respective state governments. The Supreme Court has said it won't be a 'silent spectator' in this 'calamity'.

Gravitas: 11 Indian Courts pull up governments