IMPHAL :The Manipur High Court on January 24 took urgent cognisance of a viral video allegedly showing the killing of a man by armed miscreants and directed central authorities to ensure its immediate removal, observing that continued circulation could seriously 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 grave law-and-order implications.

During the hearing, the Advocate General submitted that the video depicts the killing of Mayanglambam Rishikant Singh, a resident of Kakching from the Meitei community. It was argued that the clip had gone viral across multiple platforms and had the potential to aggravate tensions and disrupt communal harmony if not taken down promptly.

The State urged the court to direct 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 (MeitY); and the Ministry of Home Affairs-as well as social media intermediaries such as Meta Platforms, Google and YouTube, and WhatsApp, to immediately remove the content.

Counsel assisting the Deputy Solicitor General of India accepted notice on behalf of the Centre and informed the court that MeitY 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 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 access.

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 on the information received from the MHA’s nodal officer, the immediate relief sought by the State had been 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 outrage and condemnation after going viral on social media.

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