Guwahati: The Supreme Court has stayed proceedings pending before two High Courts challenging the constitutional validity of the Sahyog Portal and provisions of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021, relating to government powers to seek the blocking or removal of online content.
A bench comprising Chief Justice of India Surya Kant and Justices Joymalya Bagchi and V. Mohana passed the order while hearing transfer petitions filed by the Union government seeking to bring the cases before the Supreme Court for a consolidated hearing.
The proceedings involve four separate cases. Two were filed before the Karnataka High Court by X Corp and the DigiPub News Foundation, while comedian Kunal Kamra and senior advocate Haresh Jagtiani have filed separate petitions before the Bombay High Court.
Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, representing the Centre, sought the transfer of all four proceedings to the Supreme Court. The apex court issued notice, returnable on August 10, and directed that the proceedings before the High Courts would remain stayed.
X Corp, which operates the social media platform X, had earlier challenged the government’s content takedown mechanism before the Karnataka High Court. Its petition questioned a blocking order issued under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act as well as the use of the Sahyog Portal to facilitate such directions.
In September 2025, Karnataka High Court Justice M. Nagaprasanna upheld the validity of the Sahyog Portal and dismissed X Corp’s challenge.
In February 2026, Kamra and Jagtiani separately approached the Bombay High Court, challenging the Sahyog Portal and the 2025 amendment to Rule 3(1)(d) of the IT Rules, 2021.
The petitioners have argued that the provisions are unconstitutional and could enable the blocking or removal of online information on grounds they consider vague and overly broad.
The Sahyog Portal has also drawn scrutiny over the manner in which government agencies can use it to coordinate content-blocking requests with online platforms. Reports have raised concerns over the potential for bulk takedown requests and the extent of scrutiny involved in such actions.
According to data cited in reports, more than 2,300 blocking orders were sent to 19 online platforms, including WhatsApp, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram, between October 2024 and October 2025.
The Supreme Court‘s intervention means the challenges pending before the Karnataka and Bombay High Courts will remain on hold while the apex court considers the Centre’s request to consolidate the cases.