Supreme Court stays high court cases challenging Sahyog Portal
India's Supreme Court has stayed all pending proceedings in high courts challenging the Centre's Sahyog portal and its use of IT Act provisions for content takedowns.
The Supreme Court of India has issued a stay on all pending proceedings in various high courts that challenge the Union government's Sahyog portal. The portal is used to direct the takedown of online content under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act. The court issued notices on the Centre's transfer petitions on July 22, returnable on August 10, also directing that the four high court cases remain stayed.
The Centre argued that allowing multiple high courts to adjudicate these challenges could lead to conflicting rulings on central legislation. The Sahyog portal, developed by the Ministry of Home Affairs, is at the heart of the dispute. Petitioners argue that it allows government agencies to bypass the safeguards mandated under Section 69A of the IT Act and the Blocking Rules, 2009, for content removal.
The four cases affected by the stay were filed by X Corp (formerly Twitter), DigiPub News India Foundation, comedian Kunal Kamra, and senior advocate Haresh Jagtiani. These petitions question the interpretation of Section 79(3)(b), the legality of the Sahyog portal, and the framework for content removal, citing concerns over due process and freedom of speech.
The Supreme Court is scheduled to hear the Union's transfer petitions on August 10. Until then, all four high court proceedings remain halted. The Centre's primary argument is that these cases raise identical constitutional questions, and a uniform interpretation can only be provided by the apex court to prevent inconsistent judgments.