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24 June 2026

Telegram ban and IT Act

The topic involves a significant judicial interpretation of Section 69A of the IT Act regarding the government's power to block entire digital platforms, which is a core issue of constitutional law and governance.

1 min read Day 1 of 2 2 questions 1 prelims

Notes

  • The Union government blocked Telegram temporarily to protect the integrity of the NEET (UG) re-test.
  • The Delhi High Court upheld the ban by interpreting 'information' under Section 2(1)(v) of the IT Act, 2000, to include entire intermediary platforms.
  • Section 2(1)(v) traditionally defines 'information' as specific units like data, messages, text, images, or software.
  • The government argued that an online platform is an 'aggregation' or 'compilation' of these units, justifying the use of Section 69A.
  • Section 69A empowers the government to block public access to 'information' through a computer resource.
  • The Delhi High Court ruled that Section 69A's blocking power extends to the software architecture, codebase, and programmatic ecosystem of an application.
  • Telegram contended that Section 69A is limited to blocking 'specific information' rather than entire platforms.
  • The Supreme Court's judgment in the Anuradha Bhasin case mandates that restrictions on fundamental rights must be proportionate and utilize the least restrictive measure.

Part of a longer story

This is day 1 of 2 in Government regulation and enforcement actions against messaging platforms, which has been running since 24 June 2026. Reading it whole is usually worth more than reading today alone — the exam asks how something developed.

Questions

  1. Critically examine the scope of Section 69A of the Information Technology Act, 2000, in the context of recent judicial interpretations regarding the blocking of intermediary platforms. 150 words
    Attempt this — 150 words in 8 min
    0 / 150 words 8:00
  2. The principle of proportionality is central to the protection of digital rights in India. Discuss this in light of the Supreme Court's observations in the Anuradha Bhasin case and the challenges of balancing national security with the right to access digital services. 250 words
    Attempt this — 250 words in 11 min
    0 / 250 words 11:00

Prelims

  1. Under the Information Technology Act, 2000, which section empowers the government to issue directions to block public access to information through a computer resource?

Syllabus

Topics

Sources

250words.in · https://250words.in/daily/2026-06-24/telegram-ban-and-it-act