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The high court was hearing the plea filed by comedian Kunal Karma, Editors Guild, 29 regional channels, and Magazine Association challenging the establishment of the fact check unit
A division bench of the Bombay High Court comprising Justice GS Patel and Justice Neela Gokhale on Friday during the hearing of petitions challenging the amended IT act establishing a fact check unit questioned whether it would be fake news if an opinion is made about the economy from statistics of the government's source.
"Just see how this is worded. We have to look at government figures on the state of the economy. Somebody says that the economy is not doing good. The statistics would be from government sources but the analysis would be different. Would this be fake news?" the bench questioned.
The bench also observed that the terms 'fake', 'false', 'misleading', and 'government business' were not adequately defined, and no clear boundaries were established for their usage.
The high court also questioned if it is permissible in law to have a discretionary authority like a fact-checking unit.
"Is it permissible in law for a statute to have unbound discretionary authority like this? On its own plainly read, what are the limits and boundaries of these four words?" the bench questioned.
The bench also noted that the amended rule establishing a fact check unit is bad because it is limited to government business but because it is bad per se.
"Does the rule work if you take out the business government? Is the rule good if the business of govt is taken out? It is not bad because it is limited to government but it is per se bad," the bench remarked.
During yesterdays hearing the bench also questioned whether it would be government business if someone says something incorrect during the upcoming 2024 election campaign.
"As we are approaching 2024, people will be on a campaign trail and things will be said. Suppose one of our online journos questions something said in a public rally and factually incorrect, is that the business of the government or not?" the bench questioned.
Stand Up Comedian Kunal Kamra has approached the Bombay High Court challenging amended Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules 2021).
Kamra has challenged the provision that empowers the government to fact-check social media posts through the fact-checking unit of the Central Government and take the posts down from social media.
Case Title: Kunal Kamra vs Union of India
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