Vocalist TM Krishna moves HC against ‘arbitrary’ IT rules

The Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines - Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, the artist argued, offends his right as an artist and cultural commentator by imposing a chilling effect on free speech and infringing his right to privacy.

The  first bench comprising Chief Justice Sanjib Banerjee and Justice Senthil Kumar Ramamoorthy,  before    whom    the plea came on Thursday, directed  the  petitioner’s  counsel  Suhrith Parthasarathy to serve the papers on Additional Solicitor General R Sankaranarayanan to enable the Centre to file its counter affidavit within three weeks.

Krishna, on citing a Supreme Court verdict in  KS  Puttu Swamy’s case, wherein it was recognised that the right to privacy  was  implicit  in  the  guarantee  of  the  right  to  life  and  personal  liberty  under  Article  21  of  the  Constitution,  said  the  recently  notified  IT  Rules  of-fended his right as an artist.“A   reading   of   the   Code   of   Ethics   contained   in   the   impugned Rules makes it impossible to glean what will be considered  by  the  Union  government  as  acceptable  speech  in  the  online  world.  Determining  what  is  acceptable  isn’t  the  sole  prerogative  of  the  government.  It  is  a  role  that  ought  to  be  fashioned  in  accordance  with  the  constitutional   scheme,   which   the Rules manifestly fail to do,” the petitioner said.

Further,   pointing   out   that   beyond  violating  the  rights  to  privacy and freedom of expression of producers of online content,  the  artist  said  impugned  rules are also ultra vires of the Information  Technology  Act  of  2000  and  publishers  of  online  curated content.

“The  internet  was  famously  meant to serve as a democratising force, as an avenue that unlike  traditional  spaces  such  as  television    channels,    newspapers, magazines, stadia and auditoriums, would be open to all, where  speech  can  exist  free  of  its conventional structural barriers.

However,  Part  II  of  the  impugned  rules  upends  this,”  Krishna said. “For artists and musicians, a chilling effect on speech is especially  harmful.  It  tends  to  alto-gether  quell  the  creative  process  and  makes  it  impossible  for  a  person  to  think  imaginatively,    beyond    conventional    boundaries  and  create  art  that  is  politically  and  socially  salient,” he added.