The case had initially been reviewed by a division bench of Justices Gautam Patel (now retired) and Neela Gokhale, who delivered a split verdict in January.Justice Patel had argued that the rules constituted censorship, while Justice Gokhale maintained that they did not significantly impact free speech.Justice Chandurkar aligned his opinion with Justice Patel’s, emphasising the need to protect citizens’ rights to free expression.Central to the controversy was the establishment of a Fact Checking Unit (FCU), which was designed to flag online content deemed misleading or false concerning the government.The court agreed with the petitioners’ claim that the Rules had a chilling effect on fundamental rights.The contentious amendments to the IT Rules were introduced by the Union government on April 6, 2023, as part of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.The regulations mandated the FCU to monitor and flag any content perceived as fake or misleading related to government activities.If flagged, social media intermediaries could either remove the content or post a disclaimer, risking legal repercussions if they opted for the latter.
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