The 'tie-breaker' judge of the Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the 2023 amendments to the IT Rules, which empowers the Central government to establish Fact Check Units (FCUs) to identify

Justice AS Chandurkar, in his opinion against the amendments to the IT Rules, cited multiple constitutional violations, including overreach on free speech and equality, as well as the vagueness of the rule's scope.

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 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.

Earlier in the proceedings, the Bombay High Court had declined to stay the establishment of fact-checking units while it heard the case.

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 invalidated the amended IT Rules targeting fake news about the government, labeling them unconstitutional. Justice AS Chandu

The court, while hearing four petitions filed by stand-up comic Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, the Association of Indian Magazines and the News Broadcast and Digital Association, held that the rules violated constitutional provisions.

The terms "fake, false, and misleading" used in the Rules were described as "vague and therefore problematic" due to the lack of clear definitions, the judge added.

The Bombay High Court has ruled that the amended IT Rules, designed to curb fake content about the government on social media, are unconstitutional. Justice Chandurkar found that these rules violated constitutional rights including equality and freedom of speech because they used vague terms like 'fake' and 'misleading' without clear definitions.