New Delhi: The Delhi high court on Wednesday listed for hearing on August 20 a plea by The Wire and other digital media platforms seeking a stay on coercive government action for not complying with the new IT Rules and directed the Centre to file its reply to the petitions challenging the rules by that date.Though The Wire moved the Delhi high court on March 9, 2021 and the chief justice’s bench issued notice, the Union government as respondent has yet to file its reply.During the brief hearing on Wednesday, senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, who is representing The Wire, The Quint and AltNews reminded Chief Justice D.N. Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh of the bench’s earlier oral assurance that the petitioners could approach the court in the event that the government initiated coercive action. She said that since then, the government had written to the petitioners demanding that they furnish the information the IT Rules require or face up to the punitive consequences of non-compliance.“Notice has gone on the rules and they have not filed reply. Now they are asking me to report to them. This is the first step in submitting to the discipline (of regulation of content by government). Please hear my stay application and grant me protection,” she said.She added that the Union government’s conduct flies in the face of the Supreme Court decision that government regulation of content of media is unacceptable.In response, additional solicitor general Chetan Sharma said that 1,700 digital media organisations have already submitted information as per the IT Rules.“It is not a matter voice-vote,” Ramakrishnan stated as she asserted that the digital media portals before the court had preferred to challenge the new IT Rules.While Justice Patel did not respond to Ramakrishnan’s request that the government’s hand be stayed till the next date of hearing, he did direct the Centre to ensure its reply to the original petitions are submitted by August 20.Also on Wednesday, the chief justice’s bench heard a plea from PTI seeking a stay on coercive action but said it will confine itself to issuing notice to the government and consider arguments on the next date of hearing, also August 20.Counsel for PTI also informed the court tha a plea has been moved by the Centre to transfer cases challenging the IT Rules to the Supreme Court.The petitions challenge the constitutional validity of the IT rules – particularly Part III of the rules, which seeks to regulate digital media publications. Part III of the rules, the petitions argue, go beyond the jurisdiction laid out by the IT Act (under which the rules have been frames) and is also ultra vires the Constitution.A number of individuals and organisations – including The Wire, The News Minute’s Dhanya Rajendran, The Wire’s M.K. Venu, The Quint, Pratidhvani and LiveLaw – critical of the new IT rules, from across the country have moved high courts in their respective states, particularly in Maharashtra, Kerala, Delhi and Tamil Nadu.In addition, 13 media outlets under the banner of Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) and journalist Mukund Padmanabha had moved the Madras high court against the new IT Rules, appealing that the court declare them “ultra vires, void and violative of fundamental rights under the Constitution”. The court issued a notice in this regard on June 23.Carnatic musician, author and activist T.M. Krishna had also moved Madras high court with a plea against the IT Rules.(With PTI inputs)
