New Delhi [India], June 19 (ANI): Holding that the emergency nature of the situation warranted immediate government action and that the statutory procedure under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act was duly followed, the Delhi High Court on Friday dismissed Telegram's plea challenging the Centre's temporary blocking order imposed in connection with the NEET re-examination.
Justice Tejas Karia observed that the reasons recorded by the government for blocking the platform were sufficient in the circumstances and rejected Telegram's contention that the order suffered from procedural irregularities or lack of adequate reasons.
"After considering all the arguments, we find that given the emergency nature, the reasons supplied are sufficient and the government has followed the procedure under Section 69A," the Court held while upholding the Centre's action.
The Court further ruled that both the original blocking order and the subsequent decision of the Review Committee were reasoned orders that reflected due application of mind by the authorities.
"The orders are well-founded and supported by reasons. The orders do not suffer from non-application of mind," Justice Karia observed.
Rejecting Telegram's argument that the blocking order was disproportionate, the Court accepted the Centre's stand that the temporary restriction was a narrowly tailored measure aimed at preventing misuse of the platform during the conduct of the NEET re-examination.
"The government's measures are least restrictive. It cannot be held that the order is disproportionate," the Court said.
The High Court also turned down Telegram's submission that an entire platform could not be blocked under Section 69A because the provision speaks of blocking "information" and not an intermediary itself. The Court held that there was no basis in the Information Technology Act to exclude a platform from the scope of the expression "information."
"We have also held that under the IT Act there is no reason to exclude the platform from the ambit of 'information'," the Court observed.
In view of these findings, the Court dismissed Telegram's challenge and declined to interfere with the temporary blocking order issued by the Central Government.
The Centre had defended the ban by contending that Telegram had emerged as a key tool used by organised cheating networks to circulate leaked examination material and related content ahead of the NEET re-examination. According to the government, the temporary restriction was necessary to safeguard the integrity and fairness of a nationwide examination involving lakhs of students.
Appearing for the Union Government, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta argued that the blocking order was passed after following the due process prescribed under law and was based on credible material indicating large-scale misuse of the platform. He had submitted that the action was preventive in nature and justified by the larger public interest in protecting the sanctity of the examination process.
Additional Solicitor General Chetan Sharma and Advocate Ashish Dixit appeared for the Central Government and remained present during the hearing.
The government had also informed the Court that the blocking order was subsequently reviewed by the Review Committee chaired by the Cabinet Secretary, which found sufficient grounds to continue the temporary restriction.
Senior Advocate Dhruv Mehta, appearing for Telegram, had opposed the government's action and argued that the blocking order imposed a blanket restriction on a communication platform used by millions of people. He contended that the alleged misconduct of certain users could not justify disabling access to the platform as a whole.
Telegram further submitted that it had cooperated with authorities and taken action against channels and groups found to be violating the law. It argued that less restrictive alternatives were available and that the blocking order failed the constitutional test of proportionality.
The High Court, however, was not persuaded by these submissions and ultimately upheld the Centre's action, finding that the requirements of Section 69A had been satisfied and that the temporary measure was justified in the exceptional circumstances surrounding the NEET re-examination.
The temporary blocking order is presently scheduled to remain in force till June 22. (ANI)
