The Delhi High Court ordered the immediate restoration of the parody account “Dr.Nimo Yadav,” managed by petitioner Prateek Sharma. Justice Purushaindra Kumar Kaurav issued the order while hearing Sharma’s plea against the blocking of his account.
The court also gave a similar order for a petition filed by Kumar Nayan, who runs the account Nehr Who, one of the 12 accounts blocked under the directives from MeiTY.
Delhi HC orders immediate restoration of blocked parody accounts
The court made its decision after a brief discussion between advocate Vrinda Grover, representing the petitioner, and ASG Chetan Sharma for the Union of India. The court reviewed the blocking orders issued under Section 69A of the Information Technology Act.
After considering the case, the court ordered the immediate restoration of the petitioner’s entire account. However, the specific tweets mentioned in the blocking order will stay temporarily blocked.
Petitioner must appear in court, as per instructions
The court also instructed the petitioner to appear before the Review Committee at the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology. MeiTY must show whether the tweets are correctly blocked under Section 69A of the IT Act. Additionally, the court emphasized that the Review Committee should follow principles of natural justice.
Earlier in the hearing, Grover argued that the petitioner approached the high court on March 25 after receiving a notification from the platform (X). This notification said that an order was issued on March 19 to withhold the petitioner’s account. She noted that the petitioner did not receive any communication from the Union Government until after filing the petition in the high court.
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