Shimla. The Himachal Pradesh High Court has sought the complete record from the state government in connection with the alleged removal of content from the Facebook and Instagram accounts of former Chief Parliamentary Secretary (CPS) Neeraj Bharti and Baldev Kumar, also known as Bunty Siraji. The court has directed the government to produce documents, orders and other information related to the takedown notice sent to Meta, the social media platform. It has also asked what was found illegal in the social media posts that led to the decision to remove or block them.
A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Singh Thakur and Justice Bhupesh Sharma, while hearing the two petitions, asked the state government to clarify the legal basis of the takedown process. The court specifically sought information on whether the procedure prescribed under Rule 3(1)(d) of the Information Technology Rules, 2021, was followed while seeking removal of the social media content.
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The High Court has also directed the government to produce the written order under which the officer who issued the takedown notice to Meta was authorised to take such action. The court has sought the name, designation and rank of the officer who issued the notice. This is intended to establish under which order or legal provision the concerned officer was authorised to seek removal of the content from the social media platform.
The division bench has further sought details of the legal provision relied upon for the action. The court asked under which statutory or legal provision Meta was asked to remove or block the relevant Facebook and Instagram content. The government has also been asked to explain what specific material in the petitioners’ posts was considered illegal under the law.
Instead of seeking only general details, the court has also called for records identifying the removed content precisely. The government has been directed to produce the specific URLs or links relating to the content for which the removal complaint was made. This will help establish which posts or online material were specifically targeted by the takedown action.
The petitioners have challenged the removal of content from their social media accounts. During the hearing, the High Court sought the complete record of the government’s action to examine whether the required legal procedure was followed before the takedown notice was issued to Meta.
The court has also made it clear that if the government fails to file the required response and records by the next date of hearing, the matter will be reviewed on the basis of the material already available on record. The state government will therefore have to place the relevant documents concerning the takedown notice and the basis for the action before the court.
The government will now have to provide details of the officer who issued the notice, the written order authorising the officer to take the action, the legal provision relied upon for the takedown, the basis for treating the relevant content as illegal, and the specific URLs of the posts that were removed or targeted.
Following the High Court’s directions, the central issue in the case is the process followed for removing the social media content and the legal basis for that action. At the next hearing, the court will examine the records submitted by the state government to determine whether the takedown notice sent to Meta was supported by the required authority and whether the prescribed procedure was followed.
About the author — Suvedita Nath is a science student with a growing interest in cybercrime and digital safety. She writes on online activity, cyber threats, and technology-driven risks. Her work focuses on clarity, accuracy, and public awareness.
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