New Delhi, March 10 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday (March 10, 2026) sought balance between protecting the nation against fake online content and safeguarding the right to free speech while the Centre defended that its Information Technology Rules was not meant to curb humour, satire or criticism of the government. "There is no intention under the statute (Information Technology Act) or the Rules to curb any humour, statute, expression of view, critical expression of view and criticism," Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, for the Union government, addressed a Bench headed by Chief Justice of India Surya Kant. In fact, the government had notified the formation of a Fact Checking Unit (FCU) under the Press Information Bureau through a notification issued in March 2024 via the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules as amended in April 2023. The FCU was supposed to act as a "deterrent" against the creation and dissemination of fake news or misinformation regarding the "business" of the Centre.
The Amendment Rules and the establishment of the FCU had come under the judicial scrutiny of the Bombay High Court through petitions filed by the Editors Guild of India and stand-up comedian Kunal Kamra.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.