Access the order here.
The Kerala High Court has directed the government to respond within four weeks to a petition challenging the blocking of BitChat in India, according to a thread posted by SFLC.in on X. The petitioner is the Kerala-based Appropriate Technology Promotion Society, according to SFLC.in.
What does the petition seek? SFLC.in said the petition argues that the blocking “violates the rights to equality and freedom of speech and expression, as well as the principles of natural justice, procedural fairness and proportionality”. The petition seeks “disclosure of the blocking order and its quashing.” The post also stated that the petition challenges the blocking on the grounds that authorities failed to follow the procedure prescribed under the Information Technology (Procedure and Safeguards for Blocking of Access of Information by Public) Rules, 2009.“
On October 4, MediaNama had reported that the government blocked BitChat from the Apple App Store and the Google Play Store, and “apparently ordered ISPs to block its website“. Nikhil Pahwa also commended Apple for notifying BitChat about the ban despite the confidentiality requirements associated with Section 69A.
What SFLC.in said earlier on the BitChat blocking order: In its October 5 statement, SFLC.in said, “Dorsey’s post suggests that the developers were neither heard nor served with a blocking order, and learned of the block only through Apple’s notice.” It was referring to the following post:
government of India officially removes bitchat from the App Store pic.twitter.com/9oHHiwquec
— jack (@jack) October 3, 2026
SFLC.in said that “no blocking order for Bitchat is publicly available, and without it the specific grounds relied upon cannot be assailed”. It added that “using Section 69A to block an entire application that enables communication is highly disproportionate.”
SFLC.in said the blocking “immediately followed the internet shutdown imposed by the government on 2.10.2026 during a protest at Jantar Mantar”, which it said, “gives rise to a strong inference that the application may have been targeted because it enables communication during internet shutdowns and protests”.
“Enabling communication among protesters cannot, in any circumstance, be a valid ground for blocking an application under Article 19(2) or Section 69A.” – SFLC
SFLC.in said in its statement that Bitchat’s popularity in India “surged during the repeated, unconstitutional internet shutdowns imposed by the government around Jantar Mantar, New Delhi, during the NEET UG protests in July 2026”.
Background in the BitChat case: The latest blocking action follows earlier government efforts to restrict access to BitChat in July 2026. The Ministry of Home Affairs’ Indian Cyber Crime Coordination Centre (I4C) issued a takedown order to GitHub under Section 79(3)(b) of the IT Act, read with Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021, directing it to remove or restrict access to BitChat repositories within three hours, MediaNama reported.
According to documents reviewed by independent journalist Aditi Agarwal, who runs the newsletter The Tech Trace, and reported by MediaNama, I4C directed Google to remove BitChat, Briar, and Bridgefy from the Play Store, and Apple to remove BitChat and Bridgefy from the App Store. Contrary to the takedown notice, however, government officials reportedly instructed the companies orally on July 24 not to enforce the takedown directions.
Why the government ordered BitChat takedown in the past: In July 2026, during the first major Jantar Mantar protests seeking the resignation of then Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, the blocking order noted that BitChat allows anonymous communication “without mandatory user registration, phone number verification, or centralized logging”, and that its architecture impedes lawful interception, MediaNama reported.
The order also said the platform could be misused to “continue communication during internet shutdowns or restrictions imposed by authorities”, according to the same report.
Responding to this, Pahwa argued:
“Bitchat itself has not violated any law. It’s a piece of software that people use to communicate without the Internet. If a threat was created using Microsoft Word OFFLINE, would you hold Microsoft responsible for it. If that is the principled rationale here, then every software in the world is susceptible to the vagaries of actions from the Indian government.” — Nikhil Pahwa
Read his seven-point arguments here, on X.
This order is illegal and unlawful and there’s no law as far as I know that allows the Government of India to do this. They’re acting as a law unto themselves.
— Nikhil Pahwa (@nixxin) July 24, 2026
Let me explain:
1. Bitchat itself has not violated any law. It’s a piece of software that people use to communicate… https://t.co/aHEVxZVNjC
Related coverage: Read MediaNama’s report on Bitchat’s launch in 2025.
Also read:
- India’s Bitchat ban highlights two key issues
- Censorship Tracker: A live list after Jantar Mantar Protests in New Delhi
The post BitChat blocking challenge: Kerala HC gives Govt. 4 weeks to respond appeared first on MEDIANAMA.