The Madras High Court on Wednesday, adjourned to January 10, 2024, the hearing on a public interest litigation petition filed against the establishment of a Fact Check Unit (FCU) by the State government to identify fake news being peddled on the social media.
Chief Justice Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and Justice D. Bharatha Chakravarthy adjourned the hearing after being informed that the Bombay High Court was yet to deliver its judgement on a similar case filed against the constitution of a FCU by the Centre.
Though the Bombay High Court was expected to deliver the verdict in the first week of December, it had now been postponed to the first week of January, Senior Counsel P.S. Raman said and hence the Bench led by the CJ decided to hear the case before them on January 10.
AIADMK’s IT wing office-bearer R. Nirmal Kumar had filed the PIL before the Madras High Court questioning the competence of the State government to constitute an FCU. He had also argued that it would be a dangerous tool in the hands of the government and would have a chilling effect on free speech.
Since the Bombay High Court was seized of a similar case, the Bench led by CJ Gangapurwala had decided to await the orders to be passed in that case before taking a call in the case before it.
