Kerala High Court today ruled in favor of the News Broadcasters Association (NBA) and ordered that coercive action for not following the new IT Rules should not be taken. The NBA has challenged the IT Rules on the grounds that they give government authorities ‘excessive powers’ to ‘unreasonably and impermissibly restrict’ freedom of speech and expression.
According to the NBA, the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines & Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, violate Article 14 of the Constitution on equality before the law and Article 19 on the freedom to practice any profession or carry on any occupation, trade or business.
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According to the petition, the new Rules create an ‘oversight mechanism that gives the executive unfettered and excessive control over the content of digital news media’. There is a chilling effect on the content of the media because of the grievance redressal system established and the powers delegated. According to the writ (petition), the executive structure has intruded into judicial power and vested itself with powers that belong exclusively to the judiciary and thus, such exercise is outside its jurisdiction, the NBA statement indicated.
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