New Delhi: CJI checkmates Modi's fact check

New Delhi : In a jolt to the Centre, the Supreme Court on Thursday stayed the notification setting up a fact-checking unit under the Press Information Bureau (PIB) to identify fake news about the Union government. The fact check unit was notified on March 20 under Information Technology Rules, 2021, by the Ministry of Electronics and IT, amid concerns voiced by civil society groups and media outlets about the possibility of its misuse for potential censorship.

A bench headed by Chief Justice D Y Chandrachud set aside the March 11 order of the Bombay High Court which had refused to grant an interim stay on setting up the FCU under the amended IT Rules to identify fake and false content on digital media about the Union government. The top court was hearing an appeal filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra and the Editors Guild of India challenging the order of the Bombay High Court. At the outset, senior advocate Darius Khambata, appearing for Kamra, submitted that a fact-checking unit only for the Union government and not for others is arbitrary and it will mean that only the central government's version will be allowed.

Khambata argued as the general elections are round the corner, the fact-checking unit would become a tool for the Union of India to control what information goes out to the voters. "If the objective is to prevent fake news, then everybody is affected by fake news. It affects individuals more than the government.

Solicitor General Tushar Mehta said the online medium was uncontrollable and spanned across borders. "What bothered the government is that false news of the government being flashed across intermediaries. Like there is going to be a huge covid influx and then people start queuing up for grains etc," he explained.