The government on Monday ordered mobile internet services to be suspended in parts of central Delhi till 6 pm, including areas around Jantar Mantar, as thousands gathered for the Cockroach Janta Party’s (CJP) ‘Chalo Sansad’ march to demand the resignation of Union education minister Dharmendra Pradhan, people familiar with the matter said.
The government order was sent to telecom service providers (TSPs) such as Airtel, Reliance Jio, and Vodafone Idea, the people said.
Two major TSPs confirmed that they had received official directions to suspend services. There was, however, no confirmation of the government department that issued the formal orders.
Protesters complained about disruption in mobile internet in parts of central Delhi as early as 10 am as the police stopped protesters from marching towards Parliament. Heavy security was deployed, and police used lathi-charge and tear gas after protesters attempted to breach barricades.
Several mobile users also received text messages informing them of the disruption. “As per government instructions, Internet services have been stopped in your area till further notice. REGINF,” the text message sent to subscribers in English and Hindi said.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) criticised the internet shutdown, saying no suspension order had been made public in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
{{/usCountry}}The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) criticised the internet shutdown, saying no suspension order had been made public in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
{{/usCountry}}“As of Monday evening, no copy of the suspension order had been published by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Department of Telecommunications, the Delhi government or Delhi Police,” the digital advocacy group said.
It argued that without a published order, the public could not know which authority directed the shutdown, the legal grounds for it, the areas covered or its duration.
According to the internet shutdown tracker maintained by the Software Freedom Law Centre (SFLC), India has seen 24 internet shutdowns in 2026. According to the SFLC website, India experienced 54 shutdowns in 2025, 60 in 2024, 96 in 2023, 77 in 2022, 100 in 2021, 132 in 2020, 109 in 2019 and 136 in 2018. The website says currently active shutdowns in India include one in central Delhi and in Doda, Jammu and Kashmir.