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The Death Of Democracy As We Know It: Arbitrary Blocking Of Content By The Government




Khushi Agarwal, O.P. Jindal Global University

INTRODUCTION

Having a free voice is one of the cornerstones of maintaining a democracy. Such freedoms like that of a free speech has been enshrined into the very constitutional values by our constituent makers . However, in recent years, India has been among the countries that have drawn attention for their arbitrary control of free speech. The government has been accused of repressing dissent and preserving its grasp on power through the usage of emergency powers such as content blocking. A democracy that operates effectively depends on the freedom of speech and expression, and when the government unilaterally censors speech and online data, it conveys the message that dissenting voices are not welcome. This paper will be focusing upon the recent case of the blocking of the BBC documentary – ‘The Modi Question’ and determining whether such ban of content under section 69A of the IT Act1 read with Rule 16(3) of the IT Rules2 is in violation of the golden triangle of the constitution. The paper is divided in three main parts which will analyse each of the three constitutional articles and rely upon the existing jurisprudence to understand and determine whether the ban was in violation of the one’s fundamental rights. It will lastly also attempt at ascertaining whether there was an arbitrary use of power by the government whilst banning the content and solutions or steps that can be taken to curb such arbitrary use of power.

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Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research

Abbreviation: IJLLR

ISSN: 2582-8878

Website: www.ijllr.com

Accessibility: Open Access

License: Creative Commons 4.0

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​All research articles published in The Indian Journal of Law and Legal Research are fully open access. i.e. immediately freely available to read, download and share. Articles are published under the terms of a Creative Commons license which permits use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

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The opinions expressed in this publication are those of the authors. They do not purport to reflect the opinions or views of the IJLLR or its members. The designations employed in this publication and the presentation of material therein do not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the IJLLR.

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