DW BUREAU / Chandigarh

The Punjab and Haryana High Court has stayed an order passed by a Ludhiana Magistrate in connection with an cash-for-sex audio tape that sought to regulate digital content published by Panj Daria Vigilant Media Pvt. Ltd., pending further hearings.

The petitioners, represented by Senior Advocate Bipan Ghai, challenged the April 7 order, which had been passed on an application by social activist Davinder Singh Kalra. The Magistrate, acting under the IT Rules, 2021 and the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), 2023, had classified the application as a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) ? a move that the High Court deemed potentially outside the Magistrate's jurisdiction.

Petitioners argued that Kalra lacked the legal standing to file such an application and criticized the Magistrate for assuming judicial powers reserved for Constitutional courts. They also claimed violations of natural justice, as the order was passed without notice to the media outlet or affected platforms, and pointed to the Magistrate's declaration of the content as "AI-generated" without technical assessment.

The order also reportedly imposed vague future restrictions on similar content, which the petitioners said was an unconstitutional infringement on free speech under Article 19(1)(a).

Citing procedural lapses and jurisdictional overreach, Justice Manjari Nehru Kaul ordered that the Magistrate's directive be kept in abeyance until the next hearing, scheduled for July 29, 2025.

(editor@dailyworld.in)