Delhi High Court Seeks Government’s Position
The Delhi High Court has called upon the Central government to provide its stance concerning a petition lodged by the operator of the X account, ‘Nehr_Who?’. The petition challenges the alleged recurrent blockades of the account. Justice Swarana Kanta Sharma has instructed the government’s legal representative to secure directions on the issue. The court has scheduled a hearing for this case on September 16.
Petitioner’s Argument
Advocate Apar Gupta, representing the petitioner, highlighted that this is the second instance of the account being obstructed. He emphasized that a prior court order had shielded the account, but a new notice regarding specific tweets led to the entire account being blocked once more. The blocking order was submitted to the court for review.
Court’s Observations
Justice Sharma questioned the government counsel on why the blocking order couldn’t be disclosed to the account holder, noting that the contents seemed to be public. Despite Gupta referencing a previous Delhi High Court directive mandating the provision of the blocking order to the account holder, the government’s counsel argued that the orders were confidential. Nonetheless, he committed to seeking instructions on the matter.
Legal Context and History
The court is addressing a petition from the ‘Nehr_Who?’ account operator, contesting a blocking order under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, paired with the IT (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021. The petitioner has been managing the account since October 2016 and reported having approximately 250,000 followers when informed on March 19, 2026, about the initial blocking by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY).
The High Court had previously ordered on April 6 that the government pinpoint the objectionable content and disclose the blocking order, leading to the account’s reinstatement on April 8. However, the order itself was not provided, resulting in a pending contempt case. The account faced another blockade on July 27, 2026, following directives from the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB). The petitioner claims that the blocking order was not furnished and that during an Inter-Departmental Committee hearing on August 7, he was interrogated about his political and geopolitical commentary, accused of “masquerading as an Indian citizen.”
Constitutional and Legal Claims
The petitioner argues that the repeated blocking actions circumvent the safeguards under the Blocking Rules, 2009, infringing upon his rights under Articles 14, 19, and 21 of the Indian Constitution. Consequently, he is seeking the restoration of his account and a presentation of the blocking order before the court. The writ petition is filed through advocate Naman Kumar.
