(REUTERS): The Indian government has petitioned the Rajasthan High Court to stop the 59 Chinese mobile apps from challenging the ban, citing two sources, and the legal filing.
According to the two sources, the Indian government had presented a caveat in the Rajasthan High Court, suggesting it expects one or more of the companies to challenge the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s ban.
“Let nothing be done till the applicants (government) are heard in the matter,” said the court filing signed by Additional Solicitor General of India Rajdeepak Rastogi.
In this regard, an Indian lawyer said, “Such caveats are typically filed to prevent a ruling in favour of companies without hearing the government.” The filing, which one of the sources said was presented on Friday, has not previously been reported.
Earlier in June, India outlawed dozens of Chinese apps including popular video-sharing app TikTok, Alibaba’s UC Browser and Tencent’s messaging app WeChat, saying they posed a “threat to sovereignty and integrity”.
The order to ban the apps was passed to safeguard “the interests of Indian mobile and Internet users and ensure safety and sovereignty of Indian Cyber Space,” said the filing.
It was not immediately clear why the Indian government approached the court in Rajasthan and whether there were plans to file similar petitions elsewhere. None of the Chinese companies has yet mounted a legal challenge.
Chinese firms have faced hostility since a border clash that killed 20 Indian soldiers, with Delhi intensifying scrutiny of Chinese imports and any funding from China.
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