New Delhi: Citing security reasons, the Indian Air Force has asked its servicemen to exit from WhatsApp groups that are set up for its personnel to discuss and share things between themselves.
“The AF Headquarters has banned its personnel from being a part of any service WhatsApp group,” a source privy with the matter in the defence establishment said, on Monday.
Earlier, the Indian Army had banned its personnel from using 89 apps, including popular ones, like Facebook, TikTok, Snapchat, etc.
Contesting the ban, an Army lieutenant colonel had approached the Delhi high court. In his plea, Lieutenant Colonel PK Choudhary, who is currently serving in Jammu & Kashmir, sought permission to retain his Facebook account in deactivated form. He said that he was an active Facebook user and uses the platform to connect with his friends and family, as most of them are settled abroad, including his daughter.
However, a two-judge bench of the Delhi high court declined to entertain the plea. The bench, which comprised Justice Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Justice Asha Menon, asked the officer to either follow his organization’s directive to all its personnel to remove the proscribed 89 mobile applications or resign from service.
The court said the Army’s recent directive was concerning the safety and security of the country.
The government had also banned 59 Chinese apps amid the rising border tensions with China in eastern Ladakh.
