The Union government has alleged before the Delhi High Court that the YouTube channel 4PM News had been blocked in March for “peddling anti-India sentiments” and alleging that Indian authorities were involved in the Pahalgam terror attack, reported Bar and Bench on Tuesday.
In an affidavit filed before the court, the Union government also alleged that the channel’s content was a classic case of “digital lobbying” to aid foreign actors who intend to influence India’s sovereign decision-making, according to Live Law.
The Union government had ordered the blocking of the channel on March 12, citing concerns about national security and public order.
4PM News and its editor Sanjay Sharma had moved the court challenging the decision. They said that neither Google, which owns YouTube, nor the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had provided them with a formal order or reasons for blocking the channel, reported Bar and Bench.
In response, the ministry has alleged before the court that the channel had a “sustained pattern” of hosting content that was speculative, one-sided, malicious and unsubstantiated, reported Live Law.
“It is submitted that the videos hosted on the blocked channel attributed grave acts to the Union of India, such as compromising India’s strategic autonomy, having prior awareness of military action in West Asia and endangering Indians abroad,” read the affidavit.
The content on the channel also includes “per-se false, inciting, destabilising information on subjects such as terrorism, internal security of the border state of Jammu and Kashmir and Manipur”, it added.
The Union government told the court that the channel had also questioned the genuineness of India’s military response to the Pahalgam terror attack and “presented defence-related debts and schemes through fabricated narratives that could erode confidence in the armed forces”.
The terror attack at Baisaran near the town of Pahalgam on April 22, 2025, had left 26 persons dead and 17 injured. The terrorists targeted tourists after asking their names to ascertain their religion, the police said. All but three of those killed were Hindu.
The ministry stated in the affidavit that the content on 4PM News was found to be detrimental to the sovereignty and integrity, defence and security of India, and friendly relations with foreign states, which fell within the ambit of the grounds referred to under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
Under Section 69A of the Act, an authorised official in the Union government, not below the rank of a joint secretary, can send content removal orders to social media platforms if the content is deemed to threaten national security, sovereignty or public order.
“It is submitted that the manner in which petitioner’s channel operates, clearly reflects the hallmark of a ‘digital echo chamber’, where selected and repetitive content is circulated to promote a single narrative to influence public opinion,” the ministry alleged.
Speaking to The Wire after the channel was blocked, Sharma had claimed that the Union government had been repeatedly banning the portal because of its sharp criticism.
In April 2025 as well, the Union government had blocked the YouTube channel. At that time too, it had cited “national security or public order”.
Also read: Shifting viewership and Centre’s fresh attempt to control news online
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