The government move assumes significance as a number of individuals and organisations, critical of the new IT rules, from across the country have moved high courts in their respective states.
New Delhi: The Union government has moved a petition before the Supreme Court on Tuesday, July 7, for the transfer of all petitions challenging the constitutionality of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 (IT Rules, 2021) from various high courts to the Supreme Court, Bar and Bench has reported.
The government move assumes significance as a number of individuals and organisations – including The Wire, The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran, The Wire’s M.K. Venu, The Quint, Pratidhvani and LiveLaw – critical of the new IT rules, from across the country have moved high courts in their respective states, particularly in Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi and Tamil Nadu.
In addition, 13 media outlets under the banner of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) and journalist Mukund Padmanabha had moved the Madras high court against the new IT Rules, appealing that the court declare them “ultra vires, void and violative of fundamental rights under the Constitution”. The court issued a notice in this regard on June 23.Carnatic musician, author and activist T.M. Krishna had also moved Madras high court with a plea against the IT Rules.
On July 5, a bench led by Justice Rekha Pillai of the Delhi high court heard a plea by one Amit Acharya, who sought action against Twitter users for their tweets on a video from Ghaziabad showing a Muslim man being assaulted. Under Rule 4 of the IT Rules, 2021, the petitioner had sought a direction to Twitter to appoint a resident grievance officer.
Meanwhile, the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY) in an affidavit filed before the Delhi high court stated that Twitter did not comply with the new IT rules, 2021 even after three months it had been granted. The government found fault with the fact that Twitter had appointed a person living in the United States, not in India, as its grievance redressal official in violation of the new IT rules.
Social media is bold.
Social media is young.
Social media raises questions.
Social media is not satisfied with an answer.
Social media looks at the big picture.
Social media is interested in every detail.
social media is curious.
Social media is free.
Social media is irreplaceable.
But never irrelevant.
Social media is you.
(With input from news agency language)
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