Apar Gupta

Apar Gupta
EducationAmity Law School, Columbia Law School
OccupationsLawyer, Writer
AwardsAshoka Fellowship

Apar Gupta is a lawyer, founder and writer on democracy and technology from India. In 2019 he was elected as an Ashoka Fellow for, "creating a model for digital rights advocacy in the country that is driven by the public, for the public," as the co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation.

Education

Gupta was born and raised in New Delhi, India. He attended Mount St Mary's School, obtained his B.A. (LLB) (Hons) degree from Amity Law School, and a postgraduate degree from the Columbia University School of Law.

Law Practice

Gupta started out as a commercial litigator at Karanjawala & Co., and later merged his own firm Accendo Law Partners with Advani & Co. in 2010. He was included in the Forbes India 30 under 30 list in 2014.

Gupta resigned in 2015 to start his own law chamber where he represented parties in notable civil liberties and constitutional cases that have digital or technology issues including Shreya Singhal v. Union of India (Section 66A), Subramanium Swamy v. Union of India (criminal defamation), Gaurav Sureshbhai Vyas v. State of Gujarat (Internet Shutdowns), Justice Puttaswamy v. Union of India (Right to Privacy and Aadhaar), PUCL v. Union of India (Surveillance Reforms), Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (Internet Shutdowns), Indian Kanoon v. Karthik Theodore (Right to be Forgotten) and X Corp. v. Union of India (Sahyog Censorship Portal).

He has represented the India Chapter of Friday's for Future when their website was blocked under terrorism charges. His representations for journalists include Paranjoy Guha Thakurta and Sucheta Dalal against large corporations in cases of defamation. In April 2026, he was a counsel in a case in which the Delhi High Court directed the restoration of a political satirist's suspended social media account.

Digital Rights Advocacy

He is a co-founder of the SaveTheInternet.in campaign on net neutrality and SaveOurPrivacy.in campaign for data protection and surveillance reforms. After his work on the Section 66A case, he co-authored a study to document compliance with the judgement to discover ongoing cases which continued unconstitutionally against the Supreme Court judgement. This was called, "shocking" by the Supreme Court. Gupta is the co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and was appointed its first executive director from 2018 till November 2023. He resumed the role of IFF's Founder Director in November, 2024. For his work at IFF he was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2019 and the Next Now Fellowship. Gupta also filed a case as a petitioner against the Ministry of Home Affairs for disclosure of statistical data on surveillance in India. He has deposed before a parliamentary committee on the DNA Bill and before a commission inquiring into the use of Pegasus. On 31 May 2023, he presented Item #7 at the Annual meeting of shareholders of META Platforms titled as, "Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Allegations of Political Entanglement and Content Management Biases in India" that was defeated with 5% votes in its favour. He frequently works on areas of personal autonomy and rights and has advocated against directive on the mandatory installation of the Sanchar Saathi App and the Broadcasting Bill, 2024 which were rolled back by the Government of India.

Writing and Lectures

Gupta authored the Commentary on the Information Technology Act which is published by LexisNexis. He writes regularly on digital and democratic rights in leading newspapers and is quoted as an expert in India. Gupta is published in reviewed journals like the Indian Journal of Law and Technology, Seminar and the India International Center Quarterly. He has delivered the 11th Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture at the 37th Annual Dr. Ramanatham Memorial Meeting (with Jinee Lokaneeta) and also started a YouTube channel, 1984 to take forward the discourse on digital policy.

Awards and recognition

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Rhodes scholar to Carnatic singer, meet 4 young lawyers in privacy fight". The Indian Express. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  2. ↑ "Apar Gupta | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker". www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  3. ↑ "India's Justice League: Young Guns Behind The Right to Privacy Win". thequint.com. The Quint. 24 August 2017. Retrieved 8 July 2020.
  4. ↑ Chauhan, Neha. "Bombay's Advani & Co merges with Delhi start-up Accendo, aims for multiple best friends". www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  5. ↑ "Forbes India – Apar Gupta: Emerging Voice In Media Laws". Forbes India. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  6. ↑ Saluja, Pallavi (10 March 2015). "Advani & Co Partner, Forbes India's 30 under 30 Apar Gupta resigns to go independent". Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  7. ↑ Shrivastava, Prachi (30 March 2015). "Behind the scenes of the fight against Section 66A". mint. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  8. ↑ Shrivastava, Prachi. "5 lawyers, 10+ hacks file SC criminal defamation & journo rights challenge wider than Swamy's [READ ORDER]". www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  9. ↑ Rautray, Samanwaya. "State, DM can ban mobile internet to maintain law: Supreme Court". The Economic Times. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  10. ↑ "Rhodes scholar to Carnatic singer, meet 4 young lawyers in privacy fight". The Indian Express. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  11. ↑ "Message from a verdict". The Indian Express. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  12. ↑ "Going Beyond Telephone tapping to Electronic Communication Surveillance: What are the safeguards for citizens? | PUCL". www.pucl.org. Archived from the original on 4 April 2023. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  13. ↑ "Supreme Court Hears PIL on Restoration of 4G Internet in J&K". 9 April 2020. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  14. ↑ "Top court to address right to be forgotten in judicial orders". Hindustan Times. 25 July 2024. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  15. ↑ Choudhury, Ritwik (6 February 2026). "Can persons discharged from criminal case seek deletion of past news reports? Supreme Court to examine". Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  16. ↑ Pandey, Kamya (26 June 2025). "DigiPub to Join X's Lawsuit Against Sahyog Portal". MEDIANAMA. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  17. ↑ "Citing Anti-Terror Law, Delhi Police Block Global Youth Climate Activism Website". The Wire. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  18. ↑ "Paranjoy Guha Thakurta not liable to follow gag order on Adani reports till further order: Court". The Indian Express. 26 September 2025. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  19. ↑ "Sucheta Dalal Moves Court Against Ban on Reporting Sterling Biotech Fraud Case". dailypioneer.com. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  20. ↑ "Delhi HC orders restoration of two X accounts, permits temporary blocking of 'objectionable posts'". The Indian Express. 6 April 2026. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  21. ↑ Mishra, Ashish K. (9 May 2015). "India's Net neutrality crusaders". mint. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  22. ↑ "Citizens' draft law on data privacy to be unveiled today". The Indian Express. 8 June 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  23. ↑ "Outside The Frame | Pragya Singh". 1 July 2014. Archived from the original on 1 July 2014. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  24. ↑ ""Shocking": Supreme Court Notice To Centre On Cases Under Scrapped Law". NDTV.com. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
  25. ↑ "Looking towards the future". Internet Freedom Foundation. 27 September 2018. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  26. ↑ "Transitions and achieving our true potential". Internet Freedom Foundation. 18 July 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2023.
  27. ↑ "Thank you Prateek!". Internet Freedom Foundation. 2 November 2024. Retrieved 25 November 2024.
  28. ↑ Bench, Bar & (15 February 2020). "Apar Gupta wins Ashoka Fellowship for work with Internet Freedom Foundation". Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  29. ↑ "Apar Gupta | Next Now". www.next-now.org. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  30. ↑ "Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand on statistical information on e-surveillance". Business Today. 5 April 2022. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  31. ↑ "Rajya Sabha, Report on DNA Technology (Use And Application) Regulation Bill, 2019" (PDF).
  32. ↑ PTI (13 January 2022). "Those 'Directly Affected' By Pegasus Row To Soon Depose Before WB Govt-Formed Panel". outlookindia.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  33. ↑ www.sec.gov https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1326801/000121465923007846/z525230px14a6g.htm. Retrieved 10 June 2023. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  34. ↑ "Meta recommends shareholders vote against proposal on rights impact in India". The Indian Express. 27 May 2023. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  35. ↑ "Meta shareholders snub proposal to assess hate speech, political bias in India". The Morning Context. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  36. ↑ Reuters (18 April 2026). "India drops proposal to mandate national ID app Aadhaar on smartphones after pushback". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 April 2026. {{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  37. ↑ Gupta, Apar (27 November 2023). "Old censorship on a new medium". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 20 April 2026.
  38. ↑ Bench, Bar & (23 August 2011). "Book Review Commentary on Information Technology Act by Apar Gupta 2nd Edition 2011 Lexis Nexis". Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  39. ↑ "Author Page for Apar Gupta". muckrack.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  40. ↑ "Author Page for Apar Gupta :: SSRN". papers.ssrn.com. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
  41. ↑ "11th Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture". ILS Law College. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  42. ↑ "How 'Digital India' Has Transformed the Landscape of Policing and Criminal Justice in Delhi". The Wire. Retrieved 10 June 2023.
  43. ↑ "Forbes India – Apar Gupta: Emerging Voice In Media Laws". Forbes India. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  44. ↑ Bench, Bar & (15 February 2020). "Apar Gupta wins Ashoka Fellowship for work with Internet Freedom Foundation". Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  45. ↑ Bench, Bar & (21 December 2020). "Winners of second edition of Agami Prize declared". Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  46. ↑ "Apar Gupta – Executive Director at Internet Freedom Foundation". Rest of World. 11 May 2022. Retrieved 19 May 2022.
  47. ↑ "IFF Wins the Global Privacy and Human Rights Award!". Internet Freedom Foundation. 25 February 2025. Retrieved 17 March 2025.
  48. ↑ Hendrix, Ramsha Jahangir, Justin (20 January 2026). "Tech Policy Press Announces 2026 Fellows". Tech Policy Press. Retrieved 20 April 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)