Kerala Police orders takedown of posts on EC letter carrying BJP seal
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The Kerala Police has directed social media platforms to remove posts related to a controversial letter issued by the Election Commission of India that carried the seal of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s Kerala unit.
The order, issued on Tuesday, applies to posts shared by journalists and Opposition leaders.
Social media platform X informed several users that it had received legal instructions to take down content for violating Indian law.
The controversy began after a March 19, 2019, letter from the Election Commission, detailing norms on candidates’ criminal antecedents, surfaced online with the BJP Kerala unit’s seal. The document had been circulated to political parties via email on March 21, 2019.
The Election Commission later said the seal appeared due to a “purely clerical error” and withdrew the document. It explained that the BJP’s Kerala unit had submitted a photocopy of the original directive with its seal while seeking clarification, and the symbol was inadvertently overlooked before redistribution.
In its takedown order, the police cited provisions of the Information Technology Act, 2000, and the 2021 IT rules, stating that the posts “blatantly insult” the Election Commission and could harm public order and communal harmony. It warned platforms of liability if they failed to act.
The police are functioning under the Election Commission’s supervision as the Model Code of Conduct is in force ahead of the Assembly polls in Kerala.
Opposition parties, including the CPI(M), Congress, and Trinamool Congress, questioned the incident and raised concerns online. The state’s Chief Electoral Officer said an assistant section officer involved in handling the file had been suspended pending inquiry.