Delhi High Court refuses to put a stay on the new IT rules

The Delhi High Court on Monday refused to stay the new information technology rules and said it did not agree with the petitioners to pass such an order at this stage.

Foundation for Independent Journalism, The Wire, Quint Digital Media Ltd and Pravda Media Foundation, which runs Alt News, had requested for a stay on the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Code of Conduct) Rules, 2021. These companies said that a fresh notice has been issued to them, under which they will have to follow the rules, otherwise action will be taken against them. A vacation bench of Justices C Hari Shankar and Subramaniam Prasad observed that the notices were issued to the said companies only to comply with the notification, on which there is no stay. The bench said that we do not agree with you. If you want, we will issue a detailed order or if you want, we will notify it again before the Roster Bench. Let us know after you take the instructions. Senior advocate Nitya Ramakrishnan, appearing for the said media companies, requested the High Court to list the matter when the court opens after the holidays. After this, the High Court ordered to list the applications for stay before the roster bench on July 7. Meanwhile, the court has sought a response from the central government on a fresh petition filed by Pravda Media Foundation regarding the validity of IT rules.