The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice on a journalist’s plea against action on his Facebook pages and a copyright strike. The court said petitioner Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal may approach grievance and appellate authorities.
The Punjab and Haryana High Court issued notice on a journalist’s petition challenging actions taken against his Facebook pages and a copyright strike placed on his account for allegedly using photographs or news about Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. The court observed that petitioner Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal is free to approach the intermediary’s grievance cell and the Appellate Authority.
In its order, Justice Jagmohan Bansal directed:
“Notice of motion returnable for 27.07.2026. Ms. Amrita Singh, Advocate accepts notice on behalf of the respondent-UOI and Mr. Ferry Sofat, Addl. A.G. Punjab, who on advance notice is present in Court, accepts notice on behalf of the respondent-State. They seek time to file their respective replies and address arguments. In the meantime, the petitioner is at liberty to approach Grievance Officer as well as Appellate Authority. The Appellate Authority may adjudicate his appeal in accordance with law”.
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Background of the Case:
The petitioner seeks to set aside punitive measures taken against his Facebook pages titled “Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal” and “talk with rattan”, and to quash Intellectual Property Rights (IPR) claims lodged against his accounts. He also asks for restoration of those pages and all their content.
Describing himself as an independent social media journalist who focuses on public-interest reporting, he says that on 09.10.2025, while reporting on the ground in village Kaljharani (Tehsil Sangat, District Bhatinda), he uncovered alleged irregularities and misuse of public funds and was subsequently criticised publicly by the State Government.
The petition states that on 16.01.2026 the petitioner interviewed an RTI activist about Rs.785 crore spent on advertisements. In February 2026, multiple IPR complaints were filed against his content, and his Facebook page was removed on 27.02.2026. He reports receiving formal communication on 10.03.2026 that his account had been disabled. According to the pleadings, these IPR claims and related sanctions were triggered by disclosures he made about alleged internal irregularities.
The petition notes that his Facebook platform ‘Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal’ has about 3,24,000 followers and ‘Talk with Rattan’ about 1,94,000 followers; he regularly publishes long-form interviews and field reports on Facebook and YouTube. It further alleges that on 12.10.2025, during a public political address, the Chief Minister of Punjab mentioned the petitioner by name.
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The petition contends:
“That it is pertinent to mention here that report dated 25.02.2026 relating to a news item published on 13.02.2026, which merely reported that “Chief Minister Shri Bhagwant Singh Mann’s appearance at the Secretariat Sri Akal Takht Sahib” was False Intellectual Property Rights Claims strike in the name of “Aam Aadmi Party’…It is wholly unreasonable and constitutionally alarming that a routine journalistic reference to a sitting Chief Minister, including use of his publicly available image is treated as proprietary intellectual property. A Chief Minister’s public image cannot be converted into private intellectual property to silence reporting,”
The petition asserts that repeated false IPR takedown demands targeted the petitioner’s primary Facebook page (approximately 3,24,000 followers and over 3,200 posts), ultimately resulting in its removal. It claims that Meta cited numerous false IPR complaints, allegedly lodged by respondent no. 4 – Aam Aadmi Party, Punjab through 13 different email addresses and complaint reference numbers on various dates.
The petitioner says he pursued internal appeals with Meta Platforms, but the company failed to provide adequate reasoned responses and continued to impose restrictive measures such as additional strikes and content suppression.
The petition emphasizes that virtually every alleged false IPR strike against him was based solely on the use of photos of the sitting Chief Minister or news about him in routine reporting. It argues that a public official’s appearance in the course of public duties cannot be treated as private intellectual property, and that allowing such claims to suppress reporting undermines press freedom.
The plea adds,
“The very notion that reference to or depiction of an elected constitutional functionary invite False Intellectual Property Rights Claims punishment is not merely erroneous but strikes at the root of press freedom, rendering journalism hostage to political sensitivity rather than governed by law,”
Reliefs sought
- Setting aside all punitive measures that led to removal of the petitioner’s Facebook pages and published material, which he says were the outcome of “coordinated complaints filed by respondent party members and hired professionals”.
- Directing Meta Platforms to immediately restore and republish the petitioner’s Facebook pages, posts, videos and associated content, and to reinstate his follower base, reach and all platform functionalities.
- Directing Meta Platforms to adjudicate and dispose of all pending appeals filed by the petitioner by issuing reasoned, speaking orders.
- Restraining Aam Aadmi Party–Punjab, its office-bearers, agents or anyone acting on its behalf from “asserting or initiating false, mala fide or unauthorised intellectual property rights claims in respect of Government work, public domain material or journalistic content” published by the petitioner.
Case Title: Rattandeep Singh Dhaliwal v/s Union of India and Others CWP-9854-2026