The government on Monday ordered the suspension of mobile internet services in parts of central Delhi until 6 pm, including areas around Jantar Mantar, where thousands gathered for the ‘Chalo Sansad’ rally of the Cockroach Janta Party (CJP) to demand the resignation of Union Education Minister Dharmendra Pradhan, people familiar with the matter said.
The government order has been sent to telecom service providers (TSPs) such as Airtel, Reliance Jio and Vodafone Idea, the people said.
Two major transport providers have confirmed they have received official directions to suspend services. However, there was no confirmation of which government department issued the official orders.
Protesters complained of mobile internet outages in parts of central Delhi as early as 10am when police prevented protesters from marching towards Parliament. Tight security measures were deployed, and police used tear gas after demonstrators tried to break through the barriers.
Many mobile phone users also received text messages informing them of the outage. “As per government instructions, internet services have been suspended in your area until further notice. REGINF,” the text message sent to subscribers in English and Hindi read.
The Internet Freedom Foundation (IFF) criticized the internet shutdown, saying that no suspension order had been announced in violation of the law laid down by the Supreme Court.
“As of Monday evening, no copy of the suspension order has been published by the Home Ministry, Telecom Ministry, Delhi Government or Delhi Police,” the digital advocacy group said.
She said that without a published order, the public cannot know which authority directed the closure, the legal reasons for it, the areas covered or its duration.
According to the internet shutdown tracker maintained by the Software Freedom Law Center (SFLC), India saw 24 internet shutdowns in 2026. According to the SFLC website, India saw 54 shutdowns in 2025, 60 in 2024, 96 in 2023, 77 in 2022, 100 in 2021, 132 in 2020, and 109 in 2020. 2019 and 136 in 2018. The website says the currently active lockdowns in India include one in central Delhi and Doda, Jammu and Kashmir.
