As authorities gear up to tackle Saturday’s (October 10, 2026) protests against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar at Jantar Mantar, the capital is set to face stringent curbs on communication. 

The Delhi Police have imposed a 24-hour Internet shutdown around the protest site from 10 p.m. on Friday (October 9), while the Information Technology Ministry has urged social media platforms to quickly take down content referred to them by government Ministries and departments.

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The Internet shutdown order will be in effect in a four-kilometre radius of the Janpath-Kartavya Path intersection, according to a notification by the Special Cell. The shutdown, an extraordinary measure in the national capital, was also imposed during the Gen-Z protests in July.

The IT Ministry’s advisory, on the other hand, urges social media platforms to limit the reach of content “likely to cause public disorder or incite the commission of a cognisable offence relating to public order”. The order further told them to “accord priority to reports/complaints received from authorised government agencies regarding content having potential implications for public order, and take appropriate action in accordance with applicable law.” 

The advisory indicates a further ramping up of censorship of posts on Meta’s Instagram and Facebook, both of which have been complying automatically with non-binding takedown notices under Section 79(3)(b) of the Information Technology Act, 2000 over the last few months. 

Censorship of anti-establishment content, including satirical posts and dissenting videos, has been increasing since February, when the IT Ministry reduced the time limit to lose the so-called safe harbour against legal action for keeping such posts online, from over a day to just one to three hours. 

Former Minister for Public Works in Keralam and senior Indian Union Muslim League leader M.K. Muneer has sought a comprehensive probe into the circumstances leading to the reported death by suicide of Lee See Been, the project engineer of a Indo-Malaysian joint venture involved in the World Bank-aided development of MC Road from Angamaly to Thiruvananthapuram, in November 2006.

Gyanesh Kumar, the current Chief Election Commissioner, was the Secretary, Public Works, when the incident happened. Mr. Muneer, who held the Public Works portfolio between 2001 and 2006, told the media here on Sunday (October 4, 2026) that no proper inquiry had been conducted into the death of engineer Been so far. Though there were reports about a note, it lacked clarity. Mr. Muneer’s term as Minister ended in early 2006.

Mr. Muneer said that though the Left Democratic Front government, which came to power thereafter, had conducted an inquiry by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau into the alleged irregularities related to the road works under the Kerala State Transport Project, he was exonerated by the court. Mr. Kumar was later transferred to New Delhi.

Mr. Muneer’s remarks come close on the heels of the United Democratic Front government seeking a preliminary inquiry into the accusation that the alleged efforts to extort bribes from PATI-BEL consortium, the Indo-Malayasian construction firm involved in the project, had caused inordinate delays and cost escalations. This allegedly resulted in significant losses to the exchequer and also the death by suicide of Been.

(Those who are in distress may seek help by dialling the Tele-MANAS helpline 14416.)