Centre appeals against HC ruling that struck down formation of fact-checking unit: Report

The Union government has filed an appeal against a Bombay High Court order that struck down provisions in the 2023 Information Technology Amendment Rules that would have enabled the Centre to form a fact-checking unit to act against “fake news”, the Hindustan Times reported on Friday.

In a special leave petition filed on December 24, the government has argued that its fact-checking unit applies only to “intentional misinformation” and thus does not violate freedom of speech. The Supreme Court is yet to admit the petition.

In September 2024, the High Court struck down the provisions, holding that they violated Article 14 and Article 19 of the Constitution. Article 14 provides for equality before the law and Article 19 guarantees freedom of speech.

The unit would have had the power to flag any information about the Union government and its workings as false.

In its appeal against the ruling, the Centre has argued that the rules protect the public’s right to access “true and accurate information about the functioning of the Central Government”, the Hindustan Times reported.

According to the proposed amendments, if a court or the Union government notified an intermediary that “fake news” was being hosted on their platform, the intermediary would have to take down the content within 36 hours.

The content would have been flagged by...

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