Manipur HC takes urgent cognisance of viral killing video, seeks compliance report on blocking order

The Manipur High Court on January 24 directed central authorities to ensure the prompt removal of a viral video allegedly showing the killing of a man by armed miscreants, observing that its circulation has the potential to disturb public order.

A single bench of Justice Aribam Guneshwar Sharma passed the order while hearing a writ petition filed by the Manipur government through the Commissioner (Home), represented by the Advocate General. The State sought directions for blocking the video across social media platforms, citing serious law-and-order concerns.

During the hearing, the Advocate General submitted that the video depicts the killing of Mayanglambam Rishikant Singh, a resident of Kakching belonging to the Meitei community. It was contended that the clip had gone viral on multiple platforms and could aggravate tensions and disrupt communal harmony if allowed to circulate further.

The State urged the court to issue directions to the official respondents, including the Union of India through the Secretary, Department of Telecommunications, the Director General (Cyber Laws and E-Security) under the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the Ministry of Home Affairs, as well as to social media intermediaries such as Meta Platforms, Google and YouTube, and WhatsApp, to take down the content immediately.

Counsel assisting the Deputy Solicitor General of India accepted notice on behalf of the Centre and informed the court that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had already issued a blocking order on January 22. The order was passed 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, based on inputs received from the Ministry of Home Affairs.

As per the communication placed before the court, the identified URLs were hosting videos depicting a brutal killing in Manipur, which had the potential to disturb public order, prompting immediate directions for blocking.

The High Court permitted the State to serve notices on the remaining respondents, including through electronic means, and observed that since MeitY had already acted upon the information received from the MHA’s nodal officer, the immediate relief sought by the State stood addressed.

However, the court directed the Union of India and the concerned ministries to place updated information on record on or before the next date of hearing regarding the status of the blocking order and compliance by social media intermediaries. The matter has been listed for further hearing on February 18.

The video, which surfaced late on January 21, purportedly shows Singh being shot twice despite pleading for his life. Circulated with the message “No Peace, No Popular Government,” the footage triggered widespread condemnation after going viral across social media platforms.