Why additional rules when IT Act has sufficient checks: Bombay HC asks Centre

The Bombay high court (HC) has reserved its order in the public interest litigations (PIL) seeking interim reliefs against the operation of the Information Technology (Guidelines for Intermediaries and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, announced by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) in February and implemented in May.

While hearing the concluding arguments, the court sought to know from the Centre the need for additional rules while the provisions in the existing IT Act (2009) sufficed to make publications, portals and intermediaries answerable for posting any content that is objectionable and liable for penal action.