Page 58 - Banking Finance March 2023

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However, there are no recorded instances of the MeitY Government is satisfied that it is necessary to do so. Secondly,
providing individuals with pre-decisional hearings even while such necessity is relatable only to some of the subjects set
blocking non-emergency content. out in Article 19(2). Thirdly, reasons have to be recorded in
writing in such blocking order so that they may be assailed
What have the courts said? in a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution," the
Court noted.
In a landmark 2015 ruling, the Supreme Court in "Shreya
Singhal vs Union of India" struck down Section 66A of the
The debate over Section 69A was revisited in July 2022 when
Information Technology Act of 2000, which entailed
Twitter sued the MeitY in the Karnataka HC over blocking
punishment for sending offensive messages through
orders that failed to adhere to the procedural requirement
communication services, etc.
of giving users a hearing.
"Section 66A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 is
In response, the Centre told the HC that Twitter was a
struck down in its entirety being violative of Article 19(1)(a)
foreign corporation and did not have any fundamental right
and not saved under Article 19(2)," the Court held.
or legal remedy. After that, Twitter clarified that their
arguments under Articles 14, 19, and 21 were in relation to
The plea had also challenged Section 69A of the Information
the rights of the citizens who had Twitter accounts.
Technology Rules 2009, but the SC held this to be
"constitutionally valid". On February 8, the most recent date of hearing in this
matter, the Centre questioned Twitter's locus standi to
"It will be noticed that Section 69A unlike Section 66A is a argue the fundamental rights of account holders and also
narrowly drawn provision with several safeguards. First and questioned what the jural relationship between Twitter and
foremost, blocking can only be resorted to where the Central its account holders would be.

Govt readies Rs. 33,000-cr fund to aid corporate debt market
The government is constituting a Rs 33,000 crore ($4 billion) fund to provide liquidity support to its corporate debt
market during periods of tension, reported Reuters. An SBI Mutual Fund executive told the news agency that the fund
would help stem panic selling and ease redemption pressures.
Deputy Managing Director of SBI Mutual Fund D P Singh said that the government will provide 90 per cent of the
money for the fund, and other asset managers would contribute the rest. According to the report, SBI Mutual Fund
has been tasked with administrating the fund. It was first proposed by the Securities and Exchange Board of India
(SEBI) in 2020 after high-profile defaults rocked the domestic debt market. SBI Mutual Fund is a unit of India's largest
state-owned PSB, State Bank of India.

"We have seen in the past that whenever there is a credit event, there is a run on the funds for redemption which in
turn creates pressure on liquidity...this fund is being created to avoid such a situation in the future and meet the
redemption pressure in any such event," said D P Singh.

CBDT unveils tax calculator to help choose between old, new regime
After adding a sweetener to the new Income Tax regime, the Central Board of Income Tax (CBDT) has introduced a
calculator on its website to assist the assessees in choosing between two regimes. The calculator can be accessed
through this link. Changes in the new regime are proposed to be applicable from the assessment year 2024-25 (Finan-
cial Year 2023-24). These changes will be effective once the Finance Bill 2023 is enacted, which includes raising the
rebate to Rs. 7 lakh from Rs. 5 lakh and allowing the standard deduction. As earlier, exemptions under section 80 C
of the Income Tax Act and other exemptions, such as interest payment on housing loan and premiums paid towards
health insurance, will continue not to be allowed.

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