MouthShut.com, India's leading online community for consumer reviews, has filed a writ petition under article 32 of the Constitution of India before the Supreme Court, inter-alia for quashing the Information Technology Rules (Intermediaries Guidelines) 2011 and declaring them violative of articles 14, 19 and 21 of the Constitution.
MouthShut.com provides consumers the platform to write reviews on any product or service offered in India and is recognized as a trusted destination for consumers who wish to better inform themselves before making purchasing decisions.
The petition pleads to the Supreme Court that the IT Rules 2011 should be struck down because they are so vague that it cannot be predicted with certainty as to what is prohibited. and what is permitted. A consequence of this law would be the delegation of essential executive function to private entity like MouthShut.com to censor and restrict free speech of citizens or else face legal challenge for user"™s content.
Senior advocate Harish Salve appeared for MouthShut.com on the brief filed by lawyers Knit & Co.
Explaining the reasons behind filing the petition, Faisal Farooqui, CEO, MouthShut.com,"A very small percentage of companies wish that negative reviews about them would simply go away. Under the guise of "˜harmful speech"™ they approach us to remove such reviews. The new law is vague and would require MouthShut.com to remove any negative review about a company or brand simply because they do not like it, irrespective of the facts stated in the review."
Farooqui further added,"We have been threatened with hundreds of legal notices, cybercrime complaints and defamation cases. At other times, officers from various police stations call our office, demanding deletion of various reviews or face dire consequences under the IT Act 2011."
He said that MouthShut.com investigates every complaint and has a policy of not removing a review simply because someone does not like it.
"The Internet simply changes the mode of communication," said Farooqui."It does not alter the fundamental fact that behind the consumer reviews posted on MouthShut.com are the views of Indian citizens who have previously been expressing themselves freely using different mediums including face-to-face meetings, articles in newspapers, newsletters and magazines and other public forums. Curbing the right to online reviews or attaching strings to it is a disservice to the right of self expression guaranteed by the Indian Constitution."