The Supreme Court on Monday, May 9 stayed the proceedings in pleas filed in various against the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, and the Cable TV Networks (Amendment) Rules 2021 have been stayed by the Supreme Court. This means that the other cases filed before various High Courts will not be heard till the next date of hearing in the Supreme Court. However, the interim orders passed by these High Courts will continue to be valid, and have not been stayed. The matter will be heard next on May 19.
The order was passed by a Supreme Court bench of Justice AM Khanwilkar and Justice Abhay Oka, when it was hearing petitions seeking guidelines to prevent hate speech. The bench issued notices to transfer petitions from the high courts to itself. The Union government had earlier filed an application seeking the transfer of all these petitions to the apex court. According to Bar and Bench, the transfer plea said that if individual pleas are decided on by various high courts, there is a likelihood of conflict between those decisions and that of the Supreme Court.
"We direct stay of further proceedings pending before the High Courts in the respective cases or to be filed hereafter until the next date of hearing involving challenge to IT rules or cable TV amendment rules which are subject matter of proceedings in this set of cases,” the order said, reported Live Law.
The cases will be categorised into challenges to IT rules, challenges to cable TV amendment rules as well as Article 32 petitions (Article 32 gives citizens the right to move the Supreme Court). It also said that petitions pertaining to hate speech will be handled separately.
As per the IT Rules, social media and streaming companies will be required to take down contentious content quicker, appoint grievance redressal officers and assist in investigations. The rules regulate the functioning of online media portals and publishers, over-the-top (OTT) platforms, and social media intermediaries.
Numerous petitions have been filed against the rules by news organisations, including The Leaflet, Live Law, as well as a plea by The Wire, its founding editor MK Venu and TNM’s editor-in-chief Dhanya Rajendran.
In December last year, the Madras High Court restrained the Union government from taking any coercive action against digital media firms based on a PIL by the Indian Broadcasters and Digital Media Foundation. Prior to that, the Madras High Court had stayed two sub-sections under IT Rules 2021's Rule 9, which provides for a three-tier structure for addressing the grievances made in relation to publishers, under the Code of Ethics annexed to the rules.
In March 2021, a single bench of the Kerala High Court granted interim relief in a petition filed by Live Law challenging the IT Rules by ordering that no coercive steps should be taken against it under the Rules. In June 2021, similar interim relief was granted by the Kerala High Court to News Broadcasters Association.
In August, the Bombay High Court stayed two provisions of the new IT Rules – rules 9(1) and 9(3) – which require digital news organisations to adhere to the code of ethics as per the rules. It was only applicable to the parties in the petition.