The filing, a 698‑page document, lists Network18, NDTV, Indian Express, and Times Internet as signatories.
The law, drafted under the Personal Data Protection Bill, would take effect in May 2027 and obliges journalists to notify subjects and obtain consent before publication.
DNPA chief Rahul Kumar warned that the law would "render investigative journalism a benign and neutered recorder of events".
The regulation would also grant the government authority to demand personal data from organisations and to block access to information deemed in the "general public's interest", a power that could compel newsrooms to disclose confidential sources.
Judges are scheduled to deliver a verdict by the end of next month, following the hearing on Tuesday.