Journalist moves SC to challenge ban on YouTube channel '4PM'

A journalist has moved Supreme Court against the blocking of his YouTube news channel '4PM', saying the "arbitrary” action violated his fundamental right to freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution.

Petitioner Sanjay Sharma, the Editor-in-Chief of ‘4PM’ YouTube channel, contended that the blocking of his channel by YouTube on purported grounds of “national security” and “public order” was without any prior notice or hearing following an "undisclosed" order issued by the Centre under IT Blocking Rules.

“The purported reasoning of national security cannot be invoked as a blanket excuse to shut out independent journalistic voices,” Sharma said, adding restrictions must be justified and proportionate.

“The principle of proportionality requires that only the offending post is dealt with in accordance with law after engaging with the publisher of the post and not the whole channel,” he said, contending that the ban was inconsistent with the Supreme Court’s rulings in Shreya Singhal and other cases.

Sharma has also challenged the validity of the IT Blocking Rules, 2009, on the ground that they infringed upon fundamental rights to freedom of speech and expression, right to equality and the right to life and personal liberty.

“The rules permit blocking of content without a meaningful opportunity for individuals to challenge such actions, thereby affecting their right to express themselves freely,” Sharma submitted.

He contended that the freedom of speech and expression guaranteed under Article 19(1)(a) of the Constitution embraced within its scope the freedom to disseminate information, and interchange of ideas.