Journalist’s plea against Facebook page removal gets HC’s attention; Centre, Meta, Punjab given time to respond
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Ghai submitted that the page, with approximately 4.5 lakh followers, had been blocked without any prior notice or disclosure of reasons
The removal of a Facebook page with 4.5 lakh followers on Tuesday came under judicial scanner with the Punjab and Haryana High granting time till May 7 to the Centre, Punjab and Meta Platforms Inc. to make clear their stand after petitioner-journalist alleged the action was taken without notice or reasons.
Taking up the matter, Justice Jagmohan Bansal allowed an application for advancing the date of haring the matter “for the reasons assigned in the application and no objection from opposite side”. The bench at the onset observed that the petitioner, through counsel Nikhil Ghai was seeking directions for setting aside the decision to remove his Facebook page “Maninderjeet Sidhu” from the platform.
Appearing for the petitioner, advocate Ghai submitted that the page, with approximately 4.5 lakh followers, had been blocked without any prior notice or disclosure of reasons. The petitioner was only informed that the action had been taken pursuant to a notice from the Government of India or law enforcement agencies under the provisions of the Information Technology Act.
Senior panel counsel Dheeraj Jain with central government counsel Amrita Singh appeared on the Union of India’s behalf, while Punjab was represented by Additional Advocate-General Ferry Sofat. Before parting with the order, Justice Bansal asserted: “The counsel for respondents seek time to get instructions…. Adjourned to May 7.”
