Mumbai, Jul 16: The Bombay High Court on Thursday directed the Union government to file its affidavit in response to a petition filed by stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra challenging the constitutional validity of the Centre’s ‘Sahyog Portal’.
Kamra, in his plea, also challenged an amendment to the Information Technology (IT) Rules that requires social media or online intermediaries to remove any objectionable content within 36 hours.
He had claimed that the Sahyog Portal was a tool used by the government for online censorship and the amended rules enabled the government to order the takedown of content without adequate safeguards.
Kamra’s counsel, Navroz Seervai, on Thursday mentioned the plea before a division bench of Acting Chief Justice Ravindra Ghuge and Justice Gautam Ankhad, claiming that it was an important matter, but the government, despite repeated directions, had not filed its affidavit.
He said the petition was filed in February this year and the court had ordered the government from time to time to file its affidavit, but it had not been done to date.
Additional Solicitor General Anil Singh, appearing for the Centre, said the affidavit would be filed by July 29.
The court agreed and posted the matter for hearing on August 14.
The Sahyog Portal, developed by the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, was launched in 2024 to expedite the blocking of objectionable content uploaded online.
Kamra, in his plea, contended that the Sahyog Portal permits blocking and takedown of online content without prior notice, thereby violating the principles of natural justice as well as the guarantee of free speech under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.
The Sahyog Portal empowers a “unilateral takedown” of online content, he alleged.
The amended rules, the plea claimed, amounted to a flagrant violation of the fundamental rights guaranteed to every citizen under the Constitution.
The Sahyog Portal did away with issuing any notice to the originator of the content, affording a hearing to the affected party, or passing a reasoned order before blocking content on the internet, the plea stated.
It urged the high court to direct the government to suspend the Sahyog Portal’s operation and to restrain any officer of the central or state governments from directing the blocking or takedown of any information without following the procedure mandated under the IT Act. (PTI)
