Chennai | July 7, 2025 — The Madras High Court has urged the Union Government to deploy the same level of technical precision and urgency used during Operation Sindoor—where over 1,400 anti-India URLs were successfully blocked—to curb the online circulation of non-consensual intimate images (NCII).
The observation was made by Justice N Anand Venkatesh, who is hearing a petition filed by a woman whose private videos continue to resurface across digital platforms, despite multiple takedown requests. The court emphasized that if the government possesses the capability to swiftly neutralize threats to national security online, it should similarly act to safeguard the dignity and privacy of individuals, especially women.
“The method adopted for blocking nearly 1,400 anti-India URLs during Operation Sindoor could be replicated in this case as well,” the judge noted, urging authorities to treat the present matter as a test case for developing a systemic approach to combat NCII content.
SOP in Progress: Multi-Ministerial Panel Formed
The court was informed that the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has constituted a six-member committee to draft a Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to tackle the growing menace of NCII content online. The committee includes representatives from:
- MeitY
- Ministry of Home Affairs
- Department of Telecommunications
- Ministry of Women and Child Development
- Cyber law experts
The SOP is expected to serve as a structured protocol for identifying, reporting, and permanently removing non-consensual intimate material from online platforms.
Persistent Digital Violations Highlight Enforcement Gaps
Initially, the petitioner had flagged six video links featuring her intimate content. As of the latest hearing on August 5, that number had risen to thirteen. While the videos had been rendered inaccessible in Delhi and Mumbai, they remained viewable in Tamil Nadu, exposing gaps in coordination between central and local internet service providers (ISPs).
The court urged the committee to examine this inconsistency and work toward a uniform and enforceable solution nationwide. “If this model is successful, it can be adapted for broader use in similar cases to ensure that such content is permanently and comprehensively blocked,” the court added.
Constitutional Mandate: Upholding Dignity Under Article 21
Reaffirming the urgency of the matter, the court emphasized that the case involves a woman’s dignity, which is a core component of Article 21 of the Indian Constitution—the right to life and personal liberty.
“A solution must be found at the earliest, since it involves the dignity of a woman which has to be safeguarded,” the court stated, adding that the outcome of this case could set a national precedent in the legal handling of NCII-related complaints.
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