Delhi High Court asked the Centre and WhatsApp to respond to a plea by an advocate whose account was suspended. The petitioner claimed the arbitrary suspension deprived him of access to crucial personal and professional data stored in the account.
The Delhi High Court requested responses from WhatsApp and the Central government regarding a petition filed by a lawyer contesting the deactivation of his WhatsApp account.
Justice Sachin Datta issued a notice on October 16 to WhatsApp, the Union Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY), and the Union Ministry of Communications Department of Telecommunications (DoT) concerning the matter.
The case is scheduled for further hearing on December 18.
The petitioner, Advocate Reepak Kansal, argues that the suspension of his WhatsApp account was arbitrary. He claims that the account was deactivated without any prior notice, opportunity to explain, or chance to recover his data.
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This situation has resulted in his inability to access personal and professional information, including legal drafts, client communications, Bar Association election materials, and study resources for the Advocate on Record examination, according to the plea.
The petitioner asserts that these materials represent private digital assets and constitute his intellectual property.
Additionally, he emphasized that the suspension of his WhatsApp account disrupted his professional responsibilities and hindered his participation in the in the Supreme Court Bar Association (SCBA) elections held earlier this year.
He believes that such an account suspension infringes upon his fundamental rights as outlined in the Constitution of India.
Kansal alleged that despite reaching out to WhatsApp multiple times via email and courier regarding this issue, he did not receive any response. He also pointed out that WhatsApp has failed to appoint a Grievance Officer in India, which is required under Rule 4 of the Information Technology (Intermediary Guidelines and Digital Media Ethics Code) Rules, 2021.
This rule mandates that user complaints be acknowledged within 24 hours.
Consequently, Kansal is seeking the Court’s intervention, requesting that WhatsApp restore his account and establish a transparent, fair, and reasonable policy for account suspensions.
He is also calling for directives to MeitY to ensure that robust safeguards and grievance redressal mechanisms, including the formation of a Data Protection Board, are implemented to address such concerns.
Central Government Standing Counsel PS Singh, along with advocates Kumar Saurabh and Rajneesh Sharma, represented the Centre before the Court.
Case Title: Reepak Kansal vs Union Of India And Ors
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