Supreme Court to Hear Challenge Against Digital Personal Data Protection Act

The Supreme Court of India has issued a notice to the Central government, seeking its response to a plea challenging the constitutional validity of several aspects of the Digital Personal Data Protection Act, 2023.

A bench led by Chief Justice Surya Kant alongside Justices Joymalya Bagchi and Vipul M Pancholi has agreed to examine the petition, scheduling hearings for March 23. The plea argues for amendments providing specific exemptions for journalistic and investigative work under the 2023 Act and the forthcoming Digital Personal Data Protection Rules, 2025.

The court decided to tag this petition with a similar ongoing case, although it refused to implement any interim stay on the current provisions. The primary areas of concern within the pleas are the 'fiduciary' clauses, which potentially allow unfettered government access to data.