The Manipur High Court has directed central authorities to furnish an update by February 18 on the status of blocking a disturbing viral video allegedly showing the killing of a man by unidentified armed miscreants in Churachandpur district.
The video, which surfaced online on January 21, reportedly depicts a man pleading for his life before being shot dead by suspected militants. The clip, widely circulated on social media with the caption “No peace, no popular government,” has raised serious concerns over public order in the violence-hit region.
The direction was issued by Justice A Guneshwar Sharma on January 22 while hearing a writ petition filed by the Manipur government through its Commissioner (Home). The Advocate General had informed the court that the video had the potential to disturb public order and requested immediate removal from online platforms.
The single-judge bench took note of submissions that sought specific action against social media platforms — Meta Platforms Inc, YouTube (through Google LLC and its Indian arm), and WhatsApp Inc — to take down the video. The court was also informed by counsel assisting the Deputy Solicitor General of India that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) had already issued a blocking order on January 22.
This order was reportedly issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, in conjunction with the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.
The court directed the Secretary, Department of Telecommunications (Ministry of Communications), and the Director General (Cyber Laws and eSecurity) in MeitY to submit updated details on the blocking action taken by the next date of hearing.
The matter is now posted for further hearing on February 18.
