The Supreme Court on Tuesday (October 27) sought a response from the Centre on a petition challenging provisions of the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and the DPDP Rules on the grounds that they allegedly infringe press freedom and the right to information.

A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued notice after hearing senior advocate Madhavi Divan, who appeared for the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA).

The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 17, along with other pending matters.

The plea sought to strike down several provisions of the data protection law and its accompanying rules as unconstitutional. It argued that the absence of an exemption for journalistic activities could seriously impede news reporting, undermine investigative journalism and compromise the confidentiality of sources.

During the hearing, Divan described the petition as perhaps the first comprehensive challenge by what she termed the “legacy media”, distinguishing traditional news organisations from citizen journalists.

“This is perhaps the first comprehensive petition by what we call legacy media. There has been some debate over citizen journalists. We are the traditional, conventional legacy media,” she said.

The senior lawyer urged the bench to issue notice on the application seeking an interim stay on the challenged provisions.

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Divan argued that the law’s consent requirements could make routine news gathering and reporting unworkable, particularly when journalists report on matters involving individuals who may not consent to the use of their personal data.

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