At a time when India’s digital norms or the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021 are much in news with cases being filed all over, a Kerala court has handed out interim relief to a petitioner who had challenged the new rules.

“Learned ASGI takes notice for the respondents (India’s federal government and Ministry of Information and Broadcasting). The respondents shall not take any coercive action against the petitioners (Live Law Media, publishers and owners of a legal news website) for non- compliance of the provisions contained in Part III of Exhibit P1 Rules, as the petitioners are the publishers of law reports and legal literature,” said the Kerala High Court, situated in India’s southern State of Kerala.

The petitioners, owners and publishers of legal website Live Law, owned by Live Law Media, had sought direction from the court to restrain the federal government and MIB (responsible for enforcing content-related issues under the IT Rules) from taking any “coercive steps against the petitioner” or its employees, directors, shareholders, or any persons who contribute articles to the petitioner’s website for failing to comply with the digital norms.

The reason for such a reprieve was that the petitioner could not be rules-compliant till the constitution and designation of the authorities required to implement the provisions of the said rules were announced, and till an effective, adequate and effective grievance redressal mechanism and appellate remedy was set up for the petitioner to challenge orders passed under the said rules.