A split verdict was delivered by a division bench of Bombay High Court on a group of petitions against the amended IT Rules that include the establishment of a Fact Check Unit (FCU) to identify "fake news" on social media. One of the judges, Justice Gautam Patel, deemed the rules as nothing but censorship while the other judge, Justice Neela Gokhale, upheld the government's arguments. The petitioners, including stand-up comic Kunal Kamra and media associations, argued that the Rules were arbitrary and violated fundamental rights, while the Centre maintained that they were meant to curb the spread of false information related to "government business". Justice Patel struck down the Rules on the grounds of being unconstitutional and violating freedom of speech.
The Karnataka High Court ruled that a husband must pay a sum of Rs 60,000 as maintenance to his estranged wife suffering from depression. The husband, who earns Rs 7 lakhs per month, had opposed the amount and argued that it was too high. However, the court ruled that it was his duty to pay maintenance for his wife's treatment and that the amount was not excessive when considering his income and the fact that she is a homemaker. In other political news, the Custodian of Enemy Property of India is set to sell or lease out enemy properties left behind in India by people who have taken citizenship of Pakistan or China.