DPDP Act: Supreme Court Seeks Centre’s Reply on News Publishers’ Plea

The Supreme Court on Tuesday, 27 October, issued notice to the Centre on a petition by the Digital News Publishers Association (DNPA) challenging the Digital Personal Data Protection (DPDP) Act and its Rules. A bench of Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V Mohana heard senior advocate Madhavi Divan, who argued for the association that the law threatens press freedom and the right to information, according to a PTI report. The case will be heard again on 17 November along with other pending matters.

No Journalism Exemption, Say Publishers

The association says the Act has no exemption for journalistic activity, which it argues could hamper news gathering, investigative reporting and the protection of sources. It also objects to the consent requirements, which Divan said could make routine reporting unworkable, and to the Centre’s power to call for information under the Act. Divan asked the court to issue notice on its application for an interim stay of the challenged provisions.

RTI Amendment Under Challenge

The plea also targets the Act’s amendment of Section 8(1)(j) of the Right to Information Act, which limits access to information about public officials. The association argues that removing that safeguard changes “the whole concept of news”. Readers who use RTI to get records can see how courts have treated access claims in our report on cooperative society records and RTI.

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Latest of Several Challenges Since February

This is not the first challenge. On 16 February the Supreme Court issued notice on three writ petitions, including one by The Reporters Collective Trust, and referred the questions, among them the RTI amendment, to a larger bench. It declined to stay the DPDP framework at that stage, according to the Internet Freedom Foundation’s account. In March, the court sought the Centre’s reply on another plea by journalist Geeta Seshu and SFLC.in. The Rules were published in the gazette on 13 November 2025; the Act itself was passed by Parliament in August 2023.

Hearing Set for 17 November

The Centre now has to file its response. Whether the court will take up the interim stay request on 17 November was not reported. More of our court coverage is in the Daily Updates section.

Source: Based on reporting by The Tribune (PTI), Internet Freedom Foundation and Storyboard18.

Image: The Tribune (file photo).