IT Rules 2021 : Supreme Court To Hear Centre's Challenge Against Interim Orders Of High Courts On July 19

At this, Justices Khanwilkar said,

"That will have to be heard. The further proceedings before the High Courts are stayed...".

The SG advanced, "Yes, Your Lordships. We are seeking a stay where a stay of the Rules is granted. But that requires hearing. That is why we are not troubling your lordships today."

The SG had explained the IT Rules issue as follows-

"Under the rulemaking power, the regulation-making power under the information technology act, the central government has come out with digital media discipline rules. There are three kinds of media- we have print, electronic like television etc, and the third is digital. Print has a separate regulatory mechanism. The electronic has cable TV networks etc. For Digital, the central government has come out with statutory regulations broadly providing for a mechanism where there is a 3 tier system- every digital media platform will have its own in-house mechanism if there is any complaint by the reader or viewer because digital media has audiovisual and written content. That is the first tier. The 2nd tier is that suppose you are running a digital/web magazine, then the industry must have their own internal mechanism, say, a magazine Association- like the broadcasters Association we have in electronic media. All digital mediums of similar nature will have one internal mechanism headed by a former judge of this court. The third tier is an inter-ministerial group, from the Ministry of IT, Electronics, Home, with outsiders to assist that ministry. That ministry has certain powers to censure, to tell them that you publish an apology or publish disclaimer etc. That is the third and severest mechanism which goes to the extreme step. That is the recommendatory body, the power will be exercised by the central government under whatever provision the facts of the case justify. Those rules are challenged before various High Courts. The Bombay High Court has stayed the rules. Other High Court has said rules may operate but no coercive action may be taken. So as regards IT Rules, there are two sets of matters before this Court- one, transfer petitions that every thing may be decided here to which your lordships on the last occasion agreed. The second is SLPs against those orders- that the High Court, in our submission, ought not to have stayed the rules".

At the previous hearing on May 9, the court had recorded that Mr. Tushar Mehta, Solicitor General had assured to prepare chart of cases involving: (1) Challenge to I.T. Rules; (2) Challenge to Cable T.V. Rules; (3) Petitions generally seeking directions for evolving mechanism which would be touching upon the subject matter of I.T. Rules; and (4) other set of cases involving instances of hate speeches and hate crimes. The Court had on May 9 directed that the concerned set of cases be listed separately on the next date, to be proceeded sequentially.