Overview
- A three-judge bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notices to Kunal Kamra, the Editors Guild of India, the News Broadcasters and Digital Association, and the Association of Indian Magazines.
- The court declined Solicitor General Tushar Mehta’s request to stay the Bombay High Court judgment and condoned a delay of about 400 days in filing the appeal.
- Respondents were directed to file counter-affidavits within four weeks, with the matter to return for hearing before a three-judge bench thereafter.
- Chief Justice Kant said the issue requires balancing misinformation control with constitutional freedoms, flagged some platform behavior as dangerous, and called for clear, demarcated guidelines with shared responsibilities.
- The challenged 2023 rule empowered a government Fact-Check Unit to flag content about official business, risking intermediaries’ safe-harbour if they did not act, which the Bombay High Court struck down in September 2024 as vague and unconstitutional.