The Manipur High Court on January 22, 2026 took up an urgent writ petition filed by the State of Manipur seeking directions to block a viral video circulating on social media.
The case was registered as WP(C) No. 51 of 2026 and was heard by Justice A. Guneswar Sharma after the matter was mentioned by Advocate General Lenin Hijam citing urgency.
The State, represented through the Commissioner (Home), sought directions against the Union of India through the Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, the Director General (DIT) Cyber Laws and e-Security under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Secretary, Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Advocate General submitted that a video showing the killing of a victim by unknown miscreants had gone viral on social media. He stated that the circulation of the video was likely to disturb public order. He requested the court to direct social media platforms, including Meta Platforms Inc, YouTube, Google LLC, Google India Digital Services Pvt. Ltd. and WhatsApp Inc, to take down the video.
The court issued notice in the matter. Counsel Nongdamba, assisting Deputy Solicitor General of India Kh. Samarjit, accepted notice on behalf of respondent Nos. 1, 2 and 3.
The Deputy Solicitor General informed the court that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had already issued an order dated January 22, 2026 to block the content. The order was issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000 read with the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking for Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009. The instruction followed inputs from the Nodal Officer of the Ministry of Home Affairs stating that the videos of the brutal killing in Manipur had the potential to disturb public order.
Advocate General Lenin Hijam further sought permission to serve notice to the social media companies through the Director General (DIT) Cyber Laws and e-Security as well as through their respective email addresses.
The court permitted the State to serve notice to responsible respondents through the concerned central authority and by email.
The court observed that since the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had already acted on the information received from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the immediate concern raised by the State had been addressed.
The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 18, 2026. The court directed to submit updated information on or before the next date regarding the progress of the blocking order dated January 22, 2026.
The court also directed that a copy of the order be furnished to the counsel for the parties during the course of the day through available means.