THE Bombay High Court Tuesday directed the Central Government to file a reply by August 12 as to why The Leaflet, a digital news web portal, should not be granted interim relief from the applicability of the "Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules 2021".
A bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice GS Kulkarni listed the matter for further hearing on August 13.
Senior advocate Darius Khambata representing The Leaflet argued that the Rules went far beyond the permissible restrictions of freedom of speech and freedom of trade for digital news publishers. Calling the Rules the most draconian law on free speech in recent times, Khambata sought their immediate stay.
"These rules are so vague, so draconian that they have a chilling effect on free speech," Khambata argued while asserting that the Rules brought in were beyond the rule-making power of the Central Government under the Information Technology(IT) Act, 2000.
The Rules, he said, sought to control investigative journalism which would result in journalists not being able to write anything which they cannot prove a 100 percent, adding that while the journalists are expected to be accurate, the Rules could not decide between 'fair and crass' and could not control publishers and editors through it.
Additional Solicitor General(ASG) Anil Singh, appearing for the Central Government, argued that the Centre had filed a petition in the Supreme Court seeking to transfer more than 14 petitions challenging the new rules from different high courts to the apex court. He thus urged the Bombay High Court to wait for the outcome of the transfer petition.
In his arguments yesterday, Singh informed the court that the transfer petition was likely to come up for hearing the next day but that did not happen. In today's submissions, Singh said the matter could not be listed in the Supreme Court and it was mentioned today and the case was likely to be listed in a day or two.
The high court proceeded to hear the matter and suggested that the government not take any coercive action against The Leaflet. In response, ASG Singh requested the court to give him two days to file a short affidavit opposing the interim relief.
The high court also wondered why no counter affidavit had been filed by the Centre in any high court that had issued notice on a petition challenging the IT Rules. Senior advocate Khambata drew the bench's attention to a Calcutta High Court order of June 19 directing the Centre to file its reply by July 19.
"We would assume that they would have filed a reply", Khambata said.
The Leaflet in its petition has contended that the IT Rules 2021 impose unreasonable, excessive, and tenuous burdens on digital news publishers, which are designed to restrict and narrow the scope of reporting undertaken by such publishers and place unfeasible economic hardship on them, thereby imposing a disproportionate burden that directly violates the rights of the press that are protected under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution of India.
The Court also heard senior journalist Nikhil Wagle's petition challenging the IT Rules. Wagle is being represented by advocate Abhay Nevagi.