Supreme Court dismisses petition seeking ban on WhatsApp

The Supreme Court on Wednesday rejected the petition seeking a ban on instant messaging platforms like WhatsApp and Hike.

The petition was filed by a Haryana-based RTI activist Sudhir Yadav on the grounds that WhatsApp's end-to-end encryption could pose a threat to national security. The petitioner sought a ban saying that encryption could give terrorists and criminals a means to communicate.

The petition also mentioned that it is impossible even for a super computer to intercept the encrypted messages.

As the SC dismissed the petition, the bench asked Yadav to approach the government or Telecom Disputes Settlement and Appellate Tribunal (TDSAT).

The world's largest messaging service WhatsApp added end-to-end encryption in April 2016 for its users, which meant that no one except the sender and receiver would be able to access to the content of the message or call.