New Delhi:
The matter was heard by Justice Tejas Karia, who directed the Centre to file its reply and listed the case for further hearing on June 18 at 2.30 pm.
Appearing for the Centre, Solicitor General Tushar Mehta defended the government’s action. He told the Court that authorities had repeatedly alerted Telegram about problematic channels and shared specific user IDs and instances with the platform.
According to SG Mehta, despite repeated warnings and examples, Telegram failed to adequately correct its system.
He further said that several channels continued to circulate claims that exam questions could be obtained in exchange for money and that such activities were ongoing.
During the hearing, the Solicitor General remarked that if the matter was taken up the next day, the government would place “something shocking” before the Court.
Telegram, however, strongly opposed the blocking order.
Its counsel argued that the government’s decision suffered from “complete non-application of mind” and ignored the communications exchanged between the platform and authorities since June 1.
The company told the Court that it had acted promptly on information shared by the government and had proactively blocked channels and accounts flagged by authorities.
Telegram also argued that the law permits the blocking of specific content rather than an entire platform.
Referring to its large user base in India, the company submitted that blocking the entire platform was disproportionate and violated constitutional principles.
The counsel stated that the platform had responded to government emails within hours and had taken bona fide corrective measures.
The High Court will hear the matter again on June 18 at 2.30 pm.