3 min readThiruvananthapuramMar 24, 2026 06:22 PM IST
First published on: Mar 24, 2026 at 06:21 PM IST
Following a directive from the Election Commission of India, the Kerala police cyber cell has issued notices to the social media platforms Facebook, Instagram, and X, asking them to remove an EC letter bearing the seal of the Kerala BJP from various accounts.
Subsequently, several users on X reported getting notices asking them to take down their posts.
Cyber cell inspector Binoj confirmed that they sent notices to social media platforms, where the withdrawn notice was shared despite a clarification from the ECI, at the poll body’s behest. “We have found 270 X handles, 200 Facebook pages and 90 Instagram accounts that have shared the withdrawn notice. While Facebook and Instagram removed the notice from all accounts, X did not. They shared the notice with the account holders, who in turn published (the notice) on their accounts. There will be a further follow-up as per the directive of the ECI,’’ he said.
On Monday, an official was suspended after an ECI letter sent to all political parties in Kerala carried the BJP’s seal.
Kerala’s Chief Electoral Officer had clarified that this was purely a clerical error, which was identified and rectified immediately. The CEO’s office said the BJP’s Kerala unit had recently approached it seeking clarification on the 2019 guidelines regarding the publication of criminal antecedents of candidates. Along with their request, the party submitted a photocopy of the original 2019 directive. The party’s seal was present on that specific copy.
Due to an oversight, the office failed to notice the party symbol on the submitted document and inadvertently redistributed it to other political parties as part of the requested clarification, the CEO said.
The CPI(M) had responded to the issue on Monday itself, saying, “It is no secret that the same power centre seems to control both the Election Commission of India and the BJP. Even then, at least maintain the courtesy of two separate desks.”
The notices to social media platforms, sent under the IT Act, stated: “As an intermediary, if you fail to remove or disable the unlawful content, the protection under section 79 of the IT Act will not be applicable and you will be liable for abetment.”
The notice said the post in question insults ECI and propagates content that undermines communal harmony. Continued circulation of the retracted material is being used to spread false allegations, thereby undermining the integrity and transparency of the ECI, it stated.
Sharing a copy of the notice, Supriya Shrinate, Congress’s Social Media & Digital Platforms Chairperson, said, “Kerala Police notices sent at the behest of BJP’s puppet, the Election Commission. Notice has been sent for posting ECI’s letter with BJP’s seal. Instead of being ashamed about murdering democracy, people are being threatened.”