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Supreme Court stays high court cases challenging Sahyog portal
The Supreme Court has stayed four pending cases in the Karnataka and Bombay high courts challenging the Centre’s Sahyog portal and its use of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act for…
The Story in Brief
The Supreme Court has stayed four pending cases in the Karnataka and Bombay high courts challenging the Centre’s Sahyog portal and its use of Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act for online content takedowns. A bench headed by Chief Justice Surya Kant issued notice on the Centre’s transfer petitions on July 22 and listed them for August 10. The cases involve X Corp and DigiPub News India Foundation in Karnataka, and Kunal Kamra and Haresh Jagtiani in Bombay.
The Centre says separate high court rulings could conflict on a common constitutional issue. Petitioners argue that Section 79 is a safe harbour provision and that binding blocking powers must follow Section 69A and the 2009 Blocking Rules. They also challenge takedowns without notice or a hearing.
The Indian Opinion
Claims that the portal automatically gives the government unlimited censorship powers overstate what has been decided. But the opposite claim, that it is merely harmless administration, also ignores complaints about opaque requests and missing notice. The legal test is clear: whether Section 79(3)(b) independently authorises binding takedowns, and whether the process meets free speech safeguards. The Supreme Court’s ruling on that provision will settle the argument.
Sources (2): medianama.com, hindustantimes.com
This story was synthesised by AI from the 2 sources linked above.
Updated: this story now draws on 2 sources.
