Apar Gupta

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Apar Gupta



Occupation
Lawyer, Writer



Apar Gupta is a lawyer, founder and writer on democracy and technology from India.[1] 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.[2]

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.[3]

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.[4] He was included in the Forbes India 30 under 30 list in 2014.[5]

Gupta resigned in 2015 to start his own law chamber[6] 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),[7] Subramanium Swamy v. Union of India (criminal defamation),[8] Gaurav Sureshbhai Vyas v. State of Gujarat (Internet Shutdowns),[9] Justice Puttaswamy v. Union of India (Right to Privacy[10] and Aadhaar[11]), PUCL v. Union of India (Surveillance Reforms),[12] Anuradha Bhasin v. Union of India (Internet Shutdowns),[13] Indian Kanoon v. Karthik Theodore (Right to be Forgotten)[14][15] and X Corp. v. Union of India (Sahyog Censorship Portal).[16]

He has represented the India Chapter of Friday's for Future when their website was blocked under terrorism charges.[17] His representations for journalists include Paranjoy Guha Thakurta[18] and Sucheta Dalal[19] 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.[20]

Digital Rights Advocacy

He is a co-founder of the SaveTheInternet.in campaign on net neutrality[21] and SaveOurPrivacy.in campaign for data protection and surveillance reforms.[22] After his work on the Section 66A case,[23] 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.[24] Gupta is the co-founder of the Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) and was appointed its first executive director from 2018[25] till November, 2023.[26] He resumed the role of IFF's Founder Director in November, 2024.[27] For his work at IFF he was awarded the Ashoka Fellowship in 2019[28] and the Next Now Fellowship.[29] Gupta also filed a case as a petitioner against the Ministry of Home Affairs for disclosure of statistical data on surveillance in India.[30] He has deposed before a parliamentary committee on the DNA Bill[31] and before a commission inquiring into the use of Pegasus.[32] On May 31, 2023, he presented Item #7 at the Annual meeting of shareholders of META Platforms[33] titled as, "Shareholder Proposal Regarding Report on Allegations of Political Entanglement and Content Management Biases in India"[34] that was defeated with 5% votes in its favour.[35] He frequently works on areas of personal autonomy and rights and has advocated against directive on the mandatory installation of the Sanchar Saathi App[36] and the Broadcasting Bill, 2024[37] 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.[38] He writes regularly on digital and democratic rights in leading newspapers and is quoted as an expert in India.[39] Gupta is published in reviewed journals like the Indian Journal of Law and Technology, Seminar and the India International Center Quarterly.[40] He has delivered the 11th Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture[41] 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.[42]

Awards and recognition

See also

References

  1. ↑ Rhodes scholar to Carnatic singer, meet 4 young lawyers in privacy fight. The Indian Express(2017-08-07). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  2. ↑ Apar Gupta | Ashoka | Everyone a Changemaker. www.ashoka.org. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  3. ↑ India's Justice League: Young Guns Behind The Right to Privacy Win. thequint.com. The Quint(24 August 2017). Retrieved July 8, 2020.
  4. ↑ Bombay's Advani & Co merges with Delhi start-up Accendo, aims for multiple best friends, Chauhan, Neha. www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  5. ↑ Forbes India – Apar Gupta: Emerging Voice In Media Laws. Forbes India. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  6. ↑ Advani & Co Partner, Forbes India's 30 under 30 Apar Gupta resigns to go independent, Saluja, Pallavi. Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news(10 March 2015). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  7. ↑ Behind the scenes of the fight against Section 66A, Shrivastava, Prachi. mint(2015-03-30). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  8. ↑ 5 lawyers, 10+ hacks file SC criminal defamation & journo rights challenge wider than Swamy's [READ ORDER], Shrivastava, Prachi. www.legallyindia.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  9. ↑ State, DM can ban mobile internet to maintain law: Supreme Court. The Economic Times. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  10. ↑ Rhodes scholar to Carnatic singer, meet 4 young lawyers in privacy fight. The Indian Express(2017-08-07). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  11. ↑ Message from a verdict. The Indian Express(2018-09-28). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  12. ↑ Going Beyond Telephone tapping to Electronic Communication Surveillance: What are the safeguards for citizens? | PUCL. www.pucl.org. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  13. ↑ Supreme Court Hears PIL on Restoration of 4G Internet in J&K(2020-04-09). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  14. ↑ Top court to address right to be forgotten in judicial orders. Hindustan Times(2024-07-25). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  15. ↑ Can persons discharged from criminal case seek deletion of past news reports? Supreme Court to examine, Choudhury, Ritwik. Bar and Bench - Indian Legal news(2026-02-06). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  16. ↑ DigiPub to Join X's Lawsuit Against Sahyog Portal, Pandey, Kamya. MEDIANAMA(2025-06-26). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  17. ↑ Citing Anti-Terror Law, Delhi Police Block Global Youth Climate Activism Website. The Wire. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  18. ↑ Paranjoy Guha Thakurta not liable to follow gag order on Adani reports till further order: Court. The Indian Express(2025-09-26). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  19. ↑ Sucheta Dalal Moves Court Against Ban on Reporting Sterling Biotech Fraud Case. dailypioneer.com. Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  20. ↑ Delhi HC orders restoration of two X accounts, permits temporary blocking of ‘objectionable posts’. The Indian Express(2026-04-06). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  21. ↑ India's Net neutrality crusaders, Mishra, Ashish K.. mint(2015-05-09). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  22. ↑ Citizens' draft law on data privacy to be unveiled today. The Indian Express(2018-06-08). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  23. ↑ Outside The Frame | Pragya Singh(2014-07-01). Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  24. ↑ "Shocking": Supreme Court Notice To Centre On Cases Under Scrapped Law. NDTV.com. Retrieved 2022-05-25.
  25. ↑ Looking towards the future. Internet Freedom Foundation(2018-09-27). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  26. ↑ Transitions and achieving our true potential. Internet Freedom Foundation(2023-07-18). Retrieved 2023-11-07.
  27. ↑ Thank you Prateek!. Internet Freedom Foundation(2024-11-02). Retrieved 2024-11-25.
  28. ↑ Apar Gupta wins Ashoka Fellowship for work with Internet Freedom Foundation, Bench, Bar &. Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news(15 February 2020). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  29. ↑ Apar Gupta | Next Now. www.next-now.org. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  30. ↑ Delhi HC seeks Centre's stand on statistical information on e-surveillance. Business Today(5 April 2022). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  31. ↑ Rajya Sabha, Report on DNA Technology (Use And Application) Regulation Bill, 2019.
  32. ↑ Those 'Directly Affected' By Pegasus Row To Soon Depose Before WB Govt-Formed Panel, PTI. outlookindia.com(2022-01-13). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  33. ↑ {{{title}}}. www.sec.gov. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  34. ↑ Meta recommends shareholders vote against proposal on rights impact in India. The Indian Express(2023-05-27). Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  35. ↑ Meta shareholders snub proposal to assess hate speech, political bias in India. The Morning Context. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  36. ↑ India drops proposal to mandate national ID app Aadhaar on smartphones after pushback. The Hindu(2026-04-18). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  37. ↑ Old censorship on a new medium. The Hindu(2023-11-27). Retrieved 2026-04-20.
  38. ↑ Book Review Commentary on Information Technology Act by Apar Gupta 2nd Edition 2011 Lexis Nexis, Bench, Bar &. Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news(23 August 2011). Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  39. ↑ Author Page for Apar Gupta. muckrack.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  40. ↑ Author Page for Apar Gupta :: SSRN. papers.ssrn.com. Retrieved 2022-04-28.
  41. ↑ 11th Krishna Raj Memorial Lecture. ILS Law College. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  42. ↑ How 'Digital India' Has Transformed the Landscape of Policing and Criminal Justice in Delhi. The Wire. Retrieved 2023-06-10.
  43. ↑ Forbes India – Apar Gupta: Emerging Voice In Media Laws. Forbes India. Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  44. ↑ Apar Gupta wins Ashoka Fellowship for work with Internet Freedom Foundation, Bench, Bar &. Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news(15 February 2020). Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  45. ↑ Winners of second edition of Agami Prize declared, Bench, Bar &. Bar and Bench – Indian Legal news(21 December 2020). Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  46. ↑ Apar Gupta – Executive Director at Internet Freedom Foundation. Rest of World(2022-05-11). Retrieved 2022-05-19.
  47. ↑ IFF Wins the Global Privacy and Human Rights Award!. Internet Freedom Foundation(2025-02-25). Retrieved 2025-03-17.
  48. ↑ Tech Policy Press Announces 2026 Fellows, Hendrix, Ramsha Jahangir, Justin. Tech Policy Press(2026-01-20). Retrieved 2026-04-20.

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