Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Against Blocking Of '4 PM' YouTube Channel

The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a plea challenging Central Government's order blocking access to “4 PM” YouTube channel on grounds relating to “national security and public order.”Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav sought replies from Union of India and YouTube and listed the case for hearing on April 14. At the outset, the Court asked the Union Government's counsel if there is a mechanism where the petitioner can approach. The counsel responded that the petitioner was called before the Inter Departmental Committee constituted under the Rules, was given a hearing and relevant material was considered. He said that he will have to seek instructions as to what was the material forming basis on which the blocking order was passed. Senior Advocate Kapil Sibal appeared for the petitioner, along with Advocates Haider Rizvi, Talha Abdul Rahman and Sudhanshu Tewari.The Court issued notice and asked the Union Government to take instructions in the matter. The plea has been filed by channel's editor, Sanjay Sharma and 4 PM News Network seeking restoration of the YouTube channel and all its content. A direction is sought to call for records relating to the blocking of channel and to quash the blocking order issued by Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. As per the plea, the channel, which had more than 84 lakh subscribers, was blocked by YouTube on March 12 pursuant to a purported legal request. It has been submitted that no order or reasons for blocking was provided to the petitioners, and that neither YouTube nor Ministry of I&B had provided a copy of the blocking order.“The same day 26 videos on the said YouTube channel were also blocked allegedly on the ground of legal request. However, for this also no orders were provided,” the plea said. It added that on March 13, a hearing before the Inter- Departmental Committee (IDC) was scheduled on less than 24 hours' notice, without disclosure of any material and without informing whether the same was in respect of the channel or the 26 videos. Though the Petitioners sought relevant documents and reasonable opportunity, the same were denied, the plea said. “During the eventual hearing on 20.03.2026, reliance was placed on undisclosed material, and it was contended that the Petitioners, being content creators, were presumed to be aware of the objectionable content,” the plea said. For context, even last year, the YouTube channel in question was blocked during the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. Later, in May 2025, the Central Government told the Supreme Court it had withdrawn the blocking order. Title: SANJAY SHARMA AND ANR v. UOIThe plea has been filed by channel's editor, Sanjay Sharma and 4 PM News Network seeking restoration of the YouTube channel and all its content. A direction is sought to call for records relating to the blocking of channel and to quash the blocking order issued by Union Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. As per the plea, the channel, which had more than 84 lakh subscribers, was blocked by YouTube on March 12 pursuant to a purported legal request. It has been submitted that no order or reasons for blocking was provided to the petitioners, and that neither YouTube nor Ministry of I&B had provided a copy of the blocking order.“The same day 26 videos on the said YouTube channel were also blocked allegedly on the ground of legal request. However, for this also no orders were provided,” the plea said. It added that on March 13, a hearing before the Inter- Departmental Committee (IDC) was scheduled on less than 24 hours' notice, without disclosure of any material and without informing whether the same was in respect of the channel or the 26 videos. Though the Petitioners sought relevant documents and reasonable opportunity, the same were denied, the plea said. “During the eventual hearing on 20.03.2026, reliance was placed on undisclosed material, and it was contended that the Petitioners, being content creators, were presumed to be aware of the objectionable content,” the plea said. For context, even last year, the YouTube channel in question was blocked during the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack. Later, in May 2025, the Central Government told the Supreme Court it had withdrawn the blocking order. Title: SANJAY SHARMA AND ANR v. UOI

Delhi High Court Issues Notice On Plea Against Blocking Of '4 PM' YouTube Channel

Nupur Thapliyal

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