Kamra moves Bombay HC, alleges Sahyog portal curbs free speech

Standup comedian Kunal Kamra has approached the Bombay High Court challenging the governmentrsquos lsquoSahyogrsquo portal saying it was an attack on freedom of speechIn his plea Kamra termed it as an ldquounconstitutional and unreasonablerdquo attack on freedom of speech for enabling officials to order takedowns of social media content reported news agency PTIIn the petition filed on Wednesday Kamra has mainly contested the amended IT Rules of October 2025 as well as the Sahyog portalHe claimed that these tools ldquounlawfullyrdquo empower Central and state government officials ldquoto peremptorily issue takedown or blocking orders without following the procedure mandated under the Information Technology ActrdquoAccording to the government Sahyog was developed to automate the process of sending notices to intermediaries by the appropriate government or its agencies under the Information Technology Act 2000 to facilitate the removal or disabling of access to any information data or communication link being used to commit an unlawful actThe portal aims to bring together all authorised agencies and intermediaries on a single platform to ensure immediate action against unlawful online contentRule 31d enables vague and arbitrary takedowns Kamra tells HCldquoRule 31d of the IT Rules and the Sahyog portal are also ex facie unconstitutional as they enable the blocking or takedown of information on internet platforms on wholly vague groundsrdquo the petition filed through advocate Meenaz Kakalia stated reported PTIThe plea emphasised that such powers ldquoamount to an unconstitutional and unreasonable restriction on the freedom of speechrdquoKamra further claimed that these powers ldquogo beyond the constitutionally permissible grounds that have been exhaustively enumerated under Article 192 of the ConstitutionrdquoldquoThese new mechanisms render all information on the internet vulnerable to arbitrary takedowns providing for no remedy against such actionrdquo the petition stated reported PTIKamra asserted that the portal effectively gives thousands of government officers at the Centre and in the states unchecked powersThe petition is likely to be heard in the coming daysMaharashtra council panel summons Kunal Kamra over remarks against Deputy CM Eknath ShindeEarlier this week the Maharashtra legislative councils privileges committee summoned Kamra and Shiv Sena UBT leader Sushma Andhare for a hearing over their alleged insulting remarks against Deputy Chief Minister Eknath ShindeBJP MLC Prasad Lad who is the chairperson of the privileges committee while talking to the media on Wednesday said that the notice was issued to Kamra and Andhare 15 days ago as per PTIPrasad Lal also added that Kamra and Andhare have been asked to appear before the committee for a hearing at 2 pm on Thursday January 5The BJP MLC emphasised If they fail to turn up after two summons the committee will decide on action against themEarlier in March 2025 Kunal Kamra posted his video Naya Bharat in which he sang a parody of Bholi Si Surat a popular song from the Bollywood movie Dil To Pagal Hai With this parody song he allegedly targeted Shinde leading to multiple FIRs against himWith PTI inputs