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IT Rules: Amended Rules Allowing Fact Check Unit Unconstitutional, Says Bombay High Court

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IT Rules: Amended Rules Allowing Fact Check Unit Unconstitutional, Says Bombay High Court

Mumbai, September 20: In a setback to the Centre, the Bombay High Court on Friday struck down the amendment to the  Information Technology Act which gave power to the Centre to set up a Fact Check Unit (FCU) to identify  fake, false or misleading content against the government on social media and online platforms, terming it as “unconstitutional”. 

Rule 3(1)(b)(v) of the IT Rules amendment 2023 empowers the government to establish a Fact check Unit and unilaterally declare online content related to the government’s business on social media platforms as fake, false or misleading. The social media intermediary then either has to pull down the information or be ready to defend its actions in court, if the case so arises.

The matter was assigned to Justice AS Chandurkar as ‘tie-breaker judge’, after a division bench, in January, delivered a split verdict on the petitions challenging the amended IT rules.

Justice Chandurkar held that the rules violated constitutional provisions. “I have considered the matter extensively. The impugned rules are violative of Article 14 (right to equality), 19 (freedom of speech and expression) and 19(1)(g) (freedom and right to profession) of the Constitution of India,” he said. The expression “fake, false and misleading” in the Rules was “vague and hence wrong” in the absence of any definition, he added.

The matter will now be placed before the division bench to be decided. The judgement goes against the Centre, with two judges ruling against it. 

The HC was dealing with a batch of petitions, including by a stand-up artist Kunal Kamra, challenging the rules. 

The pleas against the Rules were referred to Justice Chandurkar after a bench of Justices Gautam Patel and Neela Gokhale, on January 31, gave a split verdict. Justice Patel struck down the amended rule establishing FCU while Justice Gokhale ruled against the petitioners.

The Centre amended the IT Act last year which empowered the Central government to flag “fake, false and misleading” news pertaining to the government on social media through FCU.

Senior counsel Navroz Seervai, for Kamra, had argued that expressions “fake, false or misleading” are vague and undefined thus being susceptible to gross abuse and misuse. Similarly, the expression “business of the Central Government” has been stated in wide terms which would encompass each and every activity of the Central Government resulting in the Rule travelling beyond the empowering Section which is Section 87 of the Act of 2000.

Maharashtra

Pakistani PIO spy Ravinder Verma in judicial custody

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Mumbai: The court has ordered the remand of Pakistan Intelligence Operative PIO spy Ravinder Verma from ATS remand to judicial custody. Ravinder Verma of the police station is accused of providing secret information to Pakistan, after which the ATS arrested him. Ravinder Verma’s defense lawyer Rupali Shinde said that her client does not have any secret money more than Rs 2,000 in his account, but the ATS opposed it and said that money was also transferred to him from other accounts, after which the court ordered the accused to be kept in judicial custody for 14 days. The defense lawyer said that the girl with whom Ravinder Verma was in contact is not Preeti Jaiswal, but Jaspreet, and he was in contact with her and was affected by the honey trap and this girl is from Punjab and Delhi. The ATS has interrogated the accused, in which the ATS has been provided with many important details.

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Maharashtra

Muslim representative delegation met police commissioner Deven Bharti on Mumbai loudspeaker, stop action till Eid-ul-Adha: Azmi

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Mumbai: Muslim representatives met Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti and lodged an objection against the removal of loudspeakers from mosques, saying that only mosques are being targeted, which is completely wrong, while the principle of noise pollution is equally applicable to all, but only on the complaint of BJP leader Kirit Somaiya there is a risk of deteriorating the environment by removing loudspeakers from mosques, and a demand was also made to stop police action to maintain law and order.

Maharashtra Samajwadi Party leader and Assembly member Abu Asim Azmi told the media after meeting the Police Commissioner on the loudspeaker issue that Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti said that no action will be taken against loudspeakers till Eid-ul-Azha, while Azmi drew the attention of the Police Commissioner on this issue that unilateral action is being taken only against mosques. The police take action after the complaint of Kirit Somaiya and then the action starts. He said that the issue of removing loudspeakers from mosques is threatening peace in Mumbai. Azmi said that the way Kirit Somaiya and Nitish Rane are demonstrating provocations has spoiled the atmosphere of Mumbai city.

The police should also take action against them to maintain law and order. Police Commissioner Deven Bharti has assured the delegation that he will take necessary steps on this issue and action will be taken as per the law. Abu Asim Azmi, while expressing concern over mischief on Eid-ul-Azha, told the Police Commissioner that the way some miscreants are constantly trying to create conflict in societies by offering sacrifices. On Nitish Rane’s venom regarding sacrifice in societies, Azmi said that sacrifice is offered in societies and it is done legally, there is no problem in it, but some people are presenting sacrifice as an issue to spoil the environment. He said that even in Hinduism, cats are offered, then no one objects. On Nitish Rane’s demand for virtual sacrifice, he said that Islam will follow Sharia and Muslims offer sacrifices only according to Sharia and the law has allowed us to do so.

Samajwadi Party leader Yousuf Abrahani, Advocate Amin Solkar, Khateeb and Imam of Hari Masjid Maulana Zubair Ahmed Barkati were also present in this representative delegation. Yousuf Abrahani said that legal action is being taken on the loudspeaker issue and the court is also being approached, while all the conditions imposed on the loudspeaker issue are illegal, while the Supreme Court had ordered decibel control and decibels have been fixed, accordingly, loudspeakers are used in mosques, but the police are taking action under pressure from the Kirit Somaiya and the police do not have the authority to remove loudspeakers from mosques, but despite this, this process is continuing, while the Mumbai Police Commissioner has also assured of necessary action on this issue.

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Maharashtra

Mumbai Cyber ​​Cell recovered Rs 1.29 crore

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Mumbai: The Cyber ​​Cell of Mumbai Police has recovered Rs 1.29 crore from the victims in the Digital Arrest fraud case. The Mumbai Crime Branch had received several complaints on helpline 1930, in which complaints of cyber fraud were received. A 73-year-old doctor from Vile Parle had lodged a complaint on the helpline. The elderly man was called on a video call by a police officer and a judge and cash was withdrawn from his bank account.

In this case, money was transferred five times from the bank account between June 2 and June 4 and Rs 2.89 crore was transferred. After registering a complaint in this case, the police filed a complaint on the NCRP portal and the nodal officer of the bank froze Rs 1.29 crore in the bank account itself for cyber crime. This action was taken under the guidance of Mumbai Police Commissioner Deven Bharti, Joint Police Commissioner Crime Lakshmi Gautam, DCP Purushottam Karad.

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