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A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana issued the notice after hearing senior advocate Madhavi Divan, appearing for the Digital News Publishers Association. The matter has been listed for further hearing on November 17.
The news outlets have argued that the Digital Personal Data Protection law could restrict press freedom by requiring journalists to seek consent from people they investigate and potentially forcing publishers to remove or redact news reports.
The petition has been filed by 21 news publishers, including organisations owned by billionaire industrialists Mukesh Ambani and Gautam Adani, as well as the Indian Express and Times Internet, part of the Times of India group. (Times Internet is also the publisher of this website, economictimes.com)
The publishers have argued that the law does not provide a specific exemption for journalism, unlike frameworks in jurisdictions such as the European Union, Singapore and Britain. They contend that requiring journalists to seek consent from the subjects of investigations could allow those under scrutiny to destroy evidence or intimidate witnesses.
Another concern is the provision allowing individuals to withdraw consent and seek the erasure of their personal data, which the publishers say could force news organisations to unpublish or substantially redact factual reports without adequate safeguards for public interest.
The petition also challenges provisions that empower a federal authority to impose penalties for non-compliance and allow the government to seek information from organisations handling personal data. According to the filing, these powers could expose confidential journalistic sources and discourage whistleblowers from sharing information about alleged corruption, corporate wrongdoing and electoral malpractice.
The publishers have further argued that the government's power to block access to information in the public interest could curtail press freedom. They have sought the quashing of several contentious provisions of the law, most of which are scheduled to take effect from May 2027, according to the Reuters report.
In a letter to the government in August, attached to the court filing, the DNPA said the law granted broad exemptions to the state without providing corresponding protections to the press. The association also said media organisations had received assurances from the government that press freedom would be protected, but argued that the absence of a written exemption remained a concern.
The law was introduced by the government to protect users' digital personal data and imposes compliance requirements on organisations handling such information, including major technology platforms.
The challenge marks a high-profile legal contest over the law, with the publishers arguing that its provisions could fundamentally alter how newsrooms investigate and report matters of public interest.
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